Through Thick And Thin
by CruorLuna
Summary: Remus Lupin, I'll tame you yet ... RLNT, set around the first War. No major spoilers as yet. Rated for future chapters. Extremely AU. **No longer on hiatus - updated!**
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:**** Yeah, while in the process of not owning things and being rather depressed by it, I thought I'd delude myself for a while and muck around with JKR's characters. That's not a problem with anyone, is it? Excellent.**

**A/N:**** This is a plot that was kind of running around my head for a bit, and I'm sure something similar may have been done before, but this was actually my own idea, and as the plot develops I'm sure you'll see that for yourselves. So don't go suing or anything as yet! Anyway, if you've made it through all this junk, then you deserve a reward, so here's the first chapter of my little experiment. Reviews are always appreciated :)**

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"Ooft!"

"Oh, I'm sorry – are you all right?"

"Yeah, my fault …"

Nymphadora Tonks, the first-year Metamorphmagus, looked up from her spot on the floor to see who she had walked into. It almost seemed as though she were unperturbed by this; perhaps like it was not an irregular occurrence for her. Sadly, that was true. She was something of a klutz, and easily distracted to boot. She flushed red at the sight of fifth-year Remus Lupin looking down at her, smiling mildly. He offered her his hand.

"Unless you'd rather stay there?" he questioned a moment later, when she had neglected to take his proffered limb and merely stared dumbly at it for several seconds. She blushed an even deeper red and allowed him to help her up.

"Sorry …" she muttered, not meeting his eye.

"Quite my fault," Remus assured her cheerfully. Her head shot up and saw him smiling mildly at her, and she only vaguely registered when he knelt and lifted her books for her, handing them over with a smile.

"Thank you," Tonks managed. "It really wasn't your fault, you know – I'm a rotten klutz, me. Always tripping over something."

"Including fifth-years?"

"Fifth-years, teachers, inanimate objects, my own feet – I'm easy." Remus simply dusted off his robes.

"I'll be sure to warn the statues," he said quite seriously, and Tonks grinned.

"I'm Tonks," she said, smiling happily. She had always been rather frightened of the older students – here, finally, was one she could relate to. And the shiny _Prefect_ badge on his chest suggested he might be a good one to know, considering how badly she tended to be bullied for being a '_shape-shifting freak_.'

"Remus," he said, nodding slightly. "Interesting hair you have there." She cocked her head to one side, contemplating her sky blue curls thoughtfully.

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked uncertainly, and was rewarded with a boyish grin.

"Not in the slightest," he assured her. "It's unusual, but it suits you. Although it does seem to contrast your tie …"

"Very true!" Tonks hadn't considered this – here she was, a proud Hufflepuff, sporting Ravenclaw hair. Shocking. "What colour would you recommend, then?"

"How about red?" he joked, and she snickered, noting his own Gryffindor tie.

"Whatever my rescuer wishes," Tonks grinned, and she morphed her hair into a shade of scarlet red, so it tumbled down her shoulders. She glanced sideways at Remus, hoping to gauge his reaction, but he was smiling as unconcernedly as before.

"I'm presuming your real name is Nymphadora?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"_Don't call me that_!" she snapped angrily. She despised her given name. "It's Tonks. And how did you know, anyway?"

"Prefect," Remus said vaguely. "You hear things. Now, where were you going in such a hurry?" Before Tonks could answer, however, a sixth-year girl with long black hair, a turned-up nose and heavy eyes had swooped upon Tonks, cackling. She barely even seemed to register Remus' presence.

"Well, well, lookie here! If it isn't little Nymphadora!"

"Hi, Aunt Bella," Tonks murmured quietly. Her mother's much younger sister was a Slytherin, and a complicated one at that. Some days she would be so nice and kind, and others she was Tonks' worst nightmare – the biggest of all her bullies. Today was one of those days, and Bellatrix screeched in amusement.

"_Hi, Aunt Bella_!" she repeated in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "You little baby, Nymphadora! When are you going to get some backbone? You sound so frightened! Are you afraid, Nymphadora? Is Auntie Bella going to hurt you?"

"Not if she knows what's good for her." Remus spoke in a voice so low it was almost a growl, and when Tonks looked at him, she found him right in front of Bellatrix, and they were eyeing one another with mutual distaste. Bella, however, showed something other than hatred in her eyes – was it fear?

"Sod off, Lupin!" she spat. "This is between Nymphadora and me."

"Remus, there you a – oh. Look who it is." Three other boys had come up behind Bellatrix, and the two taller ones were eyeing her with some disgust. The smaller, rounder one, made a face, but cowered behind the others, as the three joined Remus facing Bella head on. Tonks felt an inexplicable need to hold her breath.

"Well, well," the bespectacled boy said, "Bellatrix. Bullying first-years now?"

"What's it to you?" she snapped, clearly infuriated, but too smart to take on all four boys at once, by herself.

"Bellatrix Black, you're a credit to your name," the handsome boy said sincerely, and Bella flushed and smiled.

"Why thank you, Sirius," she said in a sickly voice. His features darkened.

"That wasn't a compliment," Sirius retorted. Remus barked with laughter, and the little round boy sniggered, earning him a warning look from Bella that was enough to send him back into hiding behind the other three.

"Off you go then, Bellatrix," the boy with glasses said coolly. "Unless of course you want to duel?" By God, he sounded almost hopeful.

"Ugh, I wouldn't waste my time!" Bella turned and stalked away, and the three tall boys smirked after her.

"Just like a Slytherin," said Sirius scathingly.

"First sign of conflict, and off they run," Remus chimed in. Bella threw them all angry looks, before sending a final glare Tonks' way and departing.

"I was telling the truth, you know," Sirius said ruefully. "She really is a credit to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

"I know, Padfoot, it's rotten luck," Remus agreed.

"Quite." Sirius nodded, then turned and surveyed Tonks with some kind of mild interest, but the sort that was clearly verging on indifference.

"Uh, thank you …" she stammered nervously. Remus smiled at her.

"Thank **you**," he amended. "Any chance to humiliate Bellatrix is a joy. Besides, it was extremely entertaining. Did you see her face?"

"Couldn't wait to get away!" the little boy squeaked, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Like you were so much help, Peter!" Sirius scoffed. "Incidentally, what was it you were squaring up to her for, Moony?"

"Fun?" Remus suggested pleasantly, and the others chuckled appreciatively. "No, she was giving younger students a hard time _again_ – wait 'til I can prove it, I'll stick her in detention for the rest of the year."

"Ah, Remus, you really do seem to think detention has an impact on troublemakers!"

"No, actually, I just want to piss her off, James," Remus corrected him with a grin, and Tonks watched them all in awe as they exchanged in witty banter. She wasn't entirely sure if she had been dismissed or not. Fifth-years really were frightening.

"Remus, your protégée's still here," Sirius informed his friend a moment later. Remus shot Tonks a glance, then raised his eyebrows back at Sirius.

"She's more yours than mine," he retorted. "Apparently _Aunt Bella_ is something of a frequent bully."

"Aunt Bella?" Sirius repeated. "Ugh! Run along, mini-Black."

"I'm not a Black!" Tonks spoke up for the first time, indignant. The others watched her, looking mildly amused. "I'm a Tonks!" Sirius' face split into a grin.

"Bloody hell!" he said, quite delightedly. "You're Andie's little girl?!"

"Nobody gets to call her Andie," Tonks informed him. "But yes. I'm Tonks."

"Ah, that's right – you're one in a long line of Blacks to despise their names," he said reminiscently. "Regulus hates his with a passion. Little twerp."

"And who are **you**?" she asked. The boys grinned even wider.

"I'm your big cousin!" he said, quite delightedly. Tonks scowled and made to walk away – she hated every one of her mother's family. But Sirius grabbed her arm quickly. "If you're writing to your mother soon, tell her Sirius said hello."

"Sirius … ohh! I remember! You're my mother's cousin – the one she likes?" she asked happily. Sirius merely nodded, looking her up and down.

"Love the hair," Peter said with a snicker. Tonks blushed furiously. She saw, with a slight jolt of surprise in her stomach, her 'cousin' raise his hand to wallop Peter for his words, but before Sirius could do so, Remus' wand was pointed casually between the little round boy's eyes. Peter's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish; Tonks gaped; Sirius and James looked amused; and Remus merely smiled, although there was a definitely dangerous gleam in his eye as he eyed his friend.

"Dear, dear, Wormtail," he said, sounding thoughtful. "I do hope you weren't attempting to insult our young friend who just provided us the opportunity to humiliate Bellatrix Black, something you've never seemed to find the courage to do yourself?"

"I – I, uh – that is, I …" the boy's voice was a squeak, and Sirius clapped Remus on the shoulder, grinning appreciatively.

"Right you are, Moony," he said delightedly. "So, Tonks, do tell. How is your mother?"

"She's fine," Tonks shrugged. "She keeps trying to convince me to come home, though … Bit annoying, really. She's worried about me."

"What?" Sirius' eyes narrowed dangerously, and James and Remus looked equally suspicious. Peter noticed this and immediately tried to copy their looks. "Why would Andie try and pull her only daughter from Hogwarts? Surely she wants you to learn?"

"She was going to send me to Beauxbatons next term."

"_Beauxbatons_?" James spluttered, looking deeply offended. "Well, Padfoot! It would appear your dear cousin is more than just a blood-traitor!"

"Quite!" Sirius looked disgruntled. "Now why, pray tell, would Andromeda Tonks want to send Nymphadora to that hellhole so far from home, when she could keep her here under the watchful eyes of Albus Dumbledore and the Marauders four?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora!"

"The _Marauders four_?" Remus repeated, eyes wide. "Merlin, Padfoot, do try harder."

"Well, all right," he grinned. "I was on the spot! Come on then, _Tonks_, enlighten us."

"Oh, she's worried about me all year because I keep getting really badly bullied, and I haven't made any friends here at all, and she wanted me to start over." Tonks shrugged slightly as she said this – she was getting used to being an outcast. The Marauders, however, looked flabbergasted.

"Stubborn mare!" Sirius hissed. "Andie could have written to me about this! And I bet that little prat Regulus has been holed up with Bellatrix about it, too …"

"Boys!" All of a sudden, McGonnagall was on the scene. The four boys arranged their features automatically into looks of total innocence, and Tonks fought the urge to giggle aloud. McGonnagall shot her a concerned look – she was all too aware of the problems the Metamorphmagus had had this year. "Is everything all right, Miss Tonks?"

"Yes, Professor," Tonks said quickly. She was rather afraid of the Deputy Headmistress.

"You boys haven't been causing trouble, have you?" The evil eye she gave the four fifth-years would have made Tonks cower, but none of them batted an eyelid – well, save for Peter. He let out a small whimper and turned and hurried in the opposite direction.

"Us, Professor?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Never!" James sounded indignant.

"Where has Mr Pettigrew taken himself off to, then?"

"Library."

"Had to return a book."

"Forgot to bring it with him."

"In a rush to get it from the dormitory." Tonks couldn't help but marvel – James and Sirius really were quite the double act. Remus stood in perfect silence, until McGonnagall addressed him directly, a slight frown on her face.

"Is this the case, Mr Lupin?" she asked dangerously. Remus raised his eyebrows mildly.

"Of course it is, Professor," he said, so sincerely that even Tonks believed him. "We were just heading down to the Great Hall for some lunch."

"Indeed." She looked a little more at ease. "Well, of course, I know you – being a school prefect – would never lie to a member of staff about any mischief-making, would you, Mr Lupin?"

"Absolutely not."

"Miss Tonks."

"Yes, Professor?"

"These three – well, four – boys, weren't giving you trouble, were they?"

"Oh, no, Professor! Not at all!"

"Very well … off you go, then." Sirius clapped Tonks on the shoulder.

"Come on, Nymphy," he said, grinning, as the four of them hurried away from McGonnagall's piercing gaze. The second they rounded the corner, Tonks shrugged him off angrily.

"My name is _Tonks_," she snapped. "Honestly, _Nymphadora_ is bad enough, but **Nymphy**?"

"Suits you," James said with a grin, and he and Sirius snickered. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'm off," he said, raising a hand. "Got to go send an owl then got a prefect's meeting – I'll see you in Potions."

"See you, Moony."

"Bye Prongs, Padfoot … nice meeting you, Dora." And he was gone. Tonks spluttered indignantly after him. _Dora_? She rolled her eyes. She had thought he was the nice one – he was as cheeky as the rest. _Remus Lupin, I'll tame you yet_.

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	2. I: The Only Marauders Left

**Disclaimer:**** Yeah, yeah, umm, could you please get the police? That woman –points at JKR- is harassing me. Claims I've stolen her characters or something along those lines. Kind of frightening. All right, fine, we'll let her think they're hers just to keep the peace – I happen to like my windows in one piece … yeah, all right, moving on now …**

**A/N:**** Yup, yup, 2 chapters in a day – don't get used to that though, trust me! I will try and update regularly, although with exams this year I can't promise HOW regularly. But I'll do my best! Now, the last chapter was the Prologue, and this is the beginning of the actual fic – but never fear, for those of you who were enjoying the first year Tonks/Marauder action: I promise plenty of flashbacks in later chapters :) The next few will be set in the "present", which is six years after the Prologue, but by about chapter 4 or 5 you'll be seeing flashbacks to Marauder days, including some pranking, I hope ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter, and remember, reviews make me write faster :P **

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"So, Tonks, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Your aunt and your cousins are Death Eaters?"

"They're no relatives of mine." Seventeen years old, and Nymphadora Tonks had already learnt the sickening truth about the Black family. Scum, the lot of them. Bellatrix, an accomplished user of the Cruciatus Curse, still on the run from the Ministry. Regulus, killed on You-Know-Who's orders because he thought he was bigger than he was and lost his nerve. And Sirius. Tonks sighed to herself.

Sirius, who had helped her through the first three years at Hogwarts when everyone thought she was a freak – Sirius, who had been a Gryffindor, and supposedly different from the others. Sirius who she had loved. And James and Lily Potter, now dead because of him – it made her sick to the stomach. Well, she wasn't like them. She was a Tonks. She wasn't a Black, no matter what anyone else said. She was in seventh year, she had a few good friends now, and she was going to prove just how un-Black she was.

"Sorry," Charlie Weasley said sheepishly. "I just couldn't believe you could be related to that lot, is all. You're so nice."

"Like I said, I'm not."

"All right, everybody, settle down!" Heads snapped up and conversations stopped mid-sentence when Albus Dumbledore entered a room, and this time was no exception. He stood before the NEWT-level Defence Against The Dark Arts class, watching them. The class was almost over, and this was the first they had seen of any teacher all period.

"I wonder if this is about Professor Cambridge?" Charlie muttered in Tonks' ear. "I heard he was injured over Halloween weekend, around the time You-Know-Who went down." It was true; nobody had seen him in the four days since …

"As you have no doubt all heard by now, we are in need of a new Professor for this class, as Professor Cambridge has been injured during the course of his work for the War."

"Ha! Knew it!" Charlie hissed.

"Therefore, for the remainder of this year, Defence Against The Dark Arts will be taught by a man who has just come out of the War against Lord Voldemort with a tremendous victory to his name – a truly accomplished wizard, and someone you would do well to pay attention to. And I think a few of you may recognise him, too … everyone, meet your new Professor, Mr Remus J. Lupin!"

"_Remus_?!" Tonks felt her jaw hit the floor, as the familiar face appeared from the door behind Dumbledore, smiling nervously. A few of the other students muttered among themselves, seeming to vaguely remember him from three or four years ago, but Tonks was the one whose eye he caught. His jaw hardened.

"You know him?" Charlie asked her quietly, as Tonks and Remus stared one another out.

"He, uh … he was one of Sirius' best mates," she said, finally tearing her gaze from the Professor to look at Charlie. That wasn't the real problem. Remus wasn't like Sirius. The problem was, Tonks knew Remus' little secret. Sirius had let it slip at a party once, almost a year ago now – Remus had thumped him afterwards. She hadn't seen him since.

"Oh …"

"Tonks! Charlie!" They both looked behind them to where their two other best friends, Andrea and Eric were waiting. The class had been dismissed. The pair quickly gathered their books, preparing to leave, but a hand on Tonks' arm stopped her.

"Dora."

"Remus." She turned unwillingly to face him. He looked thin and drawn, like he hadn't slept in weeks. Then again, he probably hadn't. And – her stomach lurched – two of his best friends had just died, because of the other one. No wonder he looked like death warmed over. _Ooh. Bad word choice._ "How … how are you?"

"Been better," he said, and she noted how bitter his voice sounded. "You?"

"Yeah, uh … well, you know, glad it's all over." _What a dumb thing to say_. Charlie stood beside her, watching her closely, and Andrea and Eric seemed to be getting bored. "Well, uh, we should get going to lunch …"

"Can we, uh … may I have a quick word with you?"

"Uh …"

"Tonks, if you don't want –"

"No, that's okay, Charlie. I'll meet you guys in the Great Hall."

"Tonks!"

"Just go, would you, Andrea?" Muttering, her friends left the room, and Eric closed the door after them. Tonks set her bag back down on the table. She and Remus looked at one another for a few moments, uncomfortably.

"Dora, I …"

"Oh, Remus." She didn't know what came over her, but Tonks had thrown her arms around him, holding him close to her. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before hugging her back, and she felt him relax against her. "Remus, I'm so, so sorry."

"Thank you." He let her go, looking faintly pink around the ears. "Listen, I'm sorry too – I wanted to apologise for the way I acted the last time we saw each other."

"Oh, no – you had every right to be angry …"

"Even so, it wasn't your fault – I had no right to scare you that way –"

"Scare me?" He stopped short, looking at her. She snorted in disbelief. "Sorry, Remus – I've seen you with a wand, and if I were a Death Eater I'd be running for the hills, but you thumping Sirius was exactly what he deserved. I wasn't _afraid_ of you, I was _angry_, with him! If you wanted me to know about your … condition –"

"Just say it – about my being a werewolf."

"– Then you would have told me yourself!" Tonks finished determinedly. "He had no right, and I was angry at him for your sake. You didn't scare me, I promise."

"Oh." He sounded extremely relieved to hear this. "Good. I mean, it doesn't make me regret my actions any less – I ought to have told you myself, Dora, six years ago."

"You know you're the only person who gets to call me _anything_ other than Tonks?"

"Yes, I – uh, pardon?"

"You heard me." Tonks struggled not to laugh. "Sorry, just an observation I don't feel I make often enough … Look, Remus, it was your business. And I'm the freaking anti-Black, for Merlin's sake! I know all about wizarding prejudices. I understand you being careful – and I forgive you. And, I, uh … I never did get a chance to tell you that night, but … I don't care, you know." His eyes locked onto hers, looking wary.

"You … don't?"

"No, I don't. You're the one who stood up for me in first year, in case you'd forgotten. You and James and –" She stopped short of saying his name. "Anyway, you didn't care about my morphing, and you took me under your wing. You all looked after me, and made me feel at home here, no matter how much younger I was, or how many dumb things I said. I don't think you knew at the time, but … you saved my life, Remus Lupin. And it turns out, all along, I should have been the one trying to make **you** feel more comfortable around people. I would never judge you by what you turn into one day a month, because I know and respect the man you are the other thirty."

Remus just stared at her blankly for a moment that stretched into eternity. Merlin, anyone would think the man had never been paid a compliment before! _Then again, considering how he expected her to react to finding out he was a werewolf, it was more than possible that he never had_. Tonks smiled, hoping to ease the awkwardness of the moment. It worked.

"Thank you, Dora," Remus said quietly, his voice somewhat hoarse. "I, uh … you don't know how rare it is for someone like me to find acceptance."

"I have an idea."

"Right." He chuckled lightly. "Of course you do. Well, don't let me keep you from your lunch any longer – your friends looked rather put-out …"

"You're my friend too," Tonks said simply, then flushed. "I mean, I know that you all only really put up with me because of Sir – uh, my cousin – but I …"

"We are friends, Dora." She smiled, feeling a little relieved.

"Glad to hear it," she joked. "I guess I'll be seeing you around – Professor Lupin."

"Ooh. Going to take a bit of getting used to, that one – Miss Tonks." She chortled appreciatively – she'd brought that one upon herself and no mistake.

"Come on, _Remus_," she said, emphasizing his name. "Walk me to lunch?"

"I'd love to," he grinned, nudging her teasingly in the ribs. "_Nymphadora_." Her wand was on him in a second.

"You take it back," she breathed, but he merely snorted.

"As your teacher, I reserve the right to call you by your name at any time I feel it appropriate, Dora. And no magic in the corridors."

"_Git_," she muttered angrily, stowing her wand away and turning on her heel. She stalked away from him, head held high, but his legs were far longer than hers and he had caught her up in a moment. He knew she couldn't stay angry.

"How are you?" he asked quietly.

"We've already covered that, Remus."

"No … how are you **really**?" His eyes bore into her, and Tonks inhaled sharply.

"Do we have to do this now?"

"No." That was unexpected. Tonks stared at him, but Remus just kept walking, so she followed him. "We don't have to do this at all. But you're so young, Dora …"

"Four years hardly makes you the wizened old man!"

"Four years and a lot of understanding," he said quietly. "A lot of pain, a lot of loss, a lot of heartache that somebody your age doesn't deserve. And it may only be four years, but it's four years during wartime. We're so close in some ways, Dora, and yet in others we're a generation apart."

"What do you mean?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"You were here. You were getting towards the end of your education; making friends; going to parties."

"You were at some of those parties with me!"

"Spying, Dora. After I left Hogwarts, I joined the Order of the Phoenix. I went straight into a battle that I didn't prepare for – I fought Death Eaters; I lost friends … I had to grow up far too quickly. Four years may not be a lot in time, but it's an eternity in experience."

Before Tonks had a chance to reply to that, she realised they were already halfway up the Great Hall. He was walking her to the Hufflepuff table. And Andrea was watching her with narrowed eyes – great. A friend in a huff was all she needed right now.

"Remus …" Tonks grabbed his arm before he could walk away, while they were still out of any of her friends' earshot. "You're right. You've seen and done things I can't even begin to imagine. You're a young man of war, and I'm a young woman who just escaped it. But somewhere inside you, there's a Marauder waiting to break back out."

"I sincerely doubt that," he said, but with a smile playing on his lips.

"I know there is!" she insisted. "Life's been cruel to you, Remus. You didn't have a childhood like most people – and yours is worse, what with your _furry little problem_."

"Was it Sirius or James who told you that?!"

"James." Tonks grinned. "He also told me that of all of you, you were probably the best at Maraudering. Had the biggest ideas, the best strategy, and the quietest attitude."

"He was a terrible exaggerator." Remus winced, and so did Tonks. _Was_. "I was the shy one. Reserved and far too rigid. I never did figure out how they came to the conclusion I was ever Marauder material to start with."

"Sirius told me the same as James. You were the best Marauder – you were just the best at not getting caught." Remus let out a hearty laugh, attracting the attention of a few nearby students, including Andrea, Charlie and Eric.

"I think we're going to need a new nickname for you, Dora."

"And why's that?"

"You and I are the only Marauders left." He said it with such a gleam in his eye that it quite startled her. Her? A Marauder? He certainly **looked** serious …

"I was never –"

"Loyal," Remus cut off. "Witty; fun; brave – a certain knack for trouble. And you spent far too much time with us. Definitely a Marauder if I ever saw one."

"Go eat your lunch." Tonks elbowed him playfully in the ribs, and he tipped her a wink as he strolled off towards the Head Table. She then slid into her own seat alongside Andrea, and Charlie and Eric strolled over from the Gryffindor table.

"You took your time," Eric commented.

"I hadn't seen him in nearly a year, we had a lot to talk about." She didn't exactly feel like an in-depth discussion of how she knew Remus, or what they had discussed.

"Did you and _Remus_ have a nice little chat, then?" Andrea's tone was scathing, and Tonks shot her a glare.

"Back off, would you?" Charlie muttered.

"No!" Andrea said shrilly. "No, I won't back off! I remember how you used to trail around after him and Potter and Black, back when we were in first year – it was pathetic, Tonks! I watched you; it was like stalking. And the fact that they let you … well, it's a bit off, for fifteen-year-old guys to let an eleven-year-old girl follow them everywhere! Now all of a sudden you're having private chats with him in his room where nobody else can see you – touching each other's arms; him calling you _Dora_?? Nobody gets to call you that!"

"He's our teacher, I can't stop him using my first name," Tonks muttered.

"So you did realise that, then?" Tonks looked at Eric, confused. "He **is** our teacher, Tonks. That means keeping your distance. No private chats, no touching, no calling him by his first name. You two are far too close for people not to talk."

"Remus and I are friends," she maintained stiffly. "I've known him well for a long time. And as for _stalking him_, Drea, it might interest you to know that Sirius was my cousin!"

"What?! You never said –"

"I did to Charlie!" He nodded the affirmative. "I couldn't tell you, because I knew you'd overreact. I may be half-Black, but I'm not like any of them. I'm not like Bellatrix, I'm not like Regulus, and now I know what he's really like, I can say for certain that I'm not a thing like Sirius, either."

"So what makes you so sure Remus is different, if they were best friends?" Tonks looked up at the new Professor for a moment, considering her friend's question.

"Because," she answered finally, "the temptation to join the Dark side proved too great for Sirius. Remus has had many worse problems in his life than Sirius did. To have come through all that makes him a much stronger person than my cousin ever was – and he's too strong to have been lured into You-Know-Who's trap. He has more reason than most to turn Dark, and I don't believe for a second he would. He's a better man than you give him credit for, Drea."

"Maybe. And maybe you're only seeing what you want to see."

But stealing another glance up at Professor R.J. Lupin a few moments later, Tonks couldn't believe he was anything like Sirius. Still, at the back of her mind, a little voice continued to nag. _The best at not getting caught_.

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	3. II: Please, Sir

**Disclaimer:** I have a confession to make ... -drumroll- ... I am NOT ... JK Rowling:O I know, I know, you're all clutching your hearts and struggling to breathe with the revelation, right?? Yeah, well, sorry if I misled anyone ... anyway ...

**A/N:** Someone pointed out in a review that the timeline in this fic was off and hadn't really been addressed in here. Very true. I thought it was kind of self-explanatory that I'd changed the timeline for plot purposes, for a bit of fun, but I apologise for not acknowledging it in my Author's Notes before now ... yeah, I changed the timeline for plot purposes, for a bit of fun :P  
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my last chapter, and I apologise about delays between updates, but I'm working as fast as I can what with everything else I have going on ... anyway, enjoy, and I'll try and be faster next time :)

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"Everybody settle down!"

"What's he going o be like as a teacher, then?" Charlie muttered, sliding into his seat beside Tonks, laying his books on his desk. Everyone was watching Professor Lupin a tad apprehensively, as nobody knew much about him.

"No idea," Tonks said honestly. Remus caught her eye and grinned, and she shot him a reassuring smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andrea scowl, but brushed it off. "He's not going to be the same as a teacher as he is as a friend. Besides, I haven't seen him properly in a while, up until last night. I guess we wait and see."

"All right!" The class snapped to attention as Remus leant on the edge of his desk, watching them all. He then smiled. "Here's the situation. You're all wondering what someone who's not that long out of here is doing back to teach you. You've got doubts. You're curious. It's human. So I'm giving you up to the end of this class, if you need all that time, to ask questions. As of tomorrow, normal lessons begin. Go."

"What?" Charlie looked as bemused as Tonks felt, and everyone broke out in whispers. She caught her teacher's eye, and he tipped her an almost imperceptible wink. She shrugged and raised her hand, figuring, why not?

"Yes, Ms Tonks?"

"Sir, why did Professor Dumbledore choose to send us such a young and, no offence, probably inexperienced Professor to teach us in our NEWT year?"

"Tonks!" a few people hissed, looking mortified, but Remus chuckled merrily.

"An excellent question, Ms Tonks," he said, inclining his head. "Why indeed? Certainly I did not apply for the post. I believe Professor Dumbledore was in need of a Professor, and he opted to choose somebody he had fought alongside in the War, so that he knew he could trust them. As for why me? I have no specific answer. Perhaps it's because he thought I could relate to you, and because – forgive my immodesty – I have some skill in this area, having fought in and survived a great War when little older than you yourselves are now. However, whether his decision was for the best, remains to be seen. That will be up to you to judge after a few lessons. Anybody else?"

"Sir?" Another tentative hand was in the air. "Is it true your best friend was Sirius Black?" All eyes in the room turned to Remus quickly, and Tonks saw a muscle jumping ever so slightly in his jaw.

"Yes," he said finally, "it is indeed. But what I wish to make clear right now is that the man was not who I thought he was. We would have never suspected … well, after what he's done, Azkaban is too good for him. I may have been his friend once, before he showed his true colours, but I would never condone or forgive the things he has done. Next?"

And so it went on. Right before the end of class, Andrea stuck her hand in the air.

"Professor Lupin? Would you say you deserved to survive the War?"

"Drea!" Tonks gasped, scandalised, as did a few other people. Remus, however, held up a hand to silence them, surveying Andrea intently.

"Interesting – why do you ask, Ms Perkins?"

"Well, it seems to me that from all you've told us, you're skilled, yes – but so were many other wizards, who were killed. Charlie's two uncles died – they were brilliant. I was curious as to whether you thought you had something they didn't, sir."

"Not in the slightest, Ms Perkins. More than anything, I believe it was a lot of luck that led me to survive this War. Everyone who fought in this War was or is a brave person, in my own opinion, and I find it categorically unfair that so many innocent lives had to be lost for the greater good. Be that as it may, we all knew when we signed up to fight that it would come to this – life or death, and nothing to save you but your own skill, and the skill of those around you. None of us could be certain of survival; those of us who have, only regret that we were not the ones lost, when others whom we loved have left us …" Tonks knew he was thinking of James and Lily, and her heart ached for him.

"So no, Ms Perkins, I don't think I have anything my friends and comrades lacked. I believe it was simply the luck of the draw, and I wish every day that I myself could have died and others lived instead. Your uncles, Mr Weasley, were wonderful men – I knew Fabian better, but from what I know of Gideon, he was equally honourable. And three of my best friends – indeed, my three absolute greatest friends – were killed in the War. I don't know how or why I was permitted to live and they were not. Certainly I am grateful, but a large part of me is also resentful. Make no mistake: nobody who has lived through this is proud to have done so, but merely sorry that it came to this."

"Oh …" For the first time in a long time, Tonks saw Andrea humbled. It surprised her, but not as much as it would have in other circumstances – that had been an incredibly emotive speech. She even saw tears in the eyes of a couple of Ravenclaws along the row from her. Charlie let out a long, low breath, and Remus nodded towards them all.

"If that is all you wish to know, you may consider yourselves dismissed, and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow for your first proper lesson."

"I'm going to hang back," Tonks murmured to Charlie, who rolled his eyes. "No, Chaz, come on! You heard what he said there; he's lost everybody! His … his parents died a couple of years back, as well, all right? He has nobody, and he's my friend: I won't just abandon him."

"You have to be careful, Tonks," was all he said calmly. She glowered.

"Professor?" Tonks, Charlie and Eric all turned around in shock, only to find that their ears were not, in fact, deceiving them. Andrea was hovering near the front of the classroom, looking – could she be nervous? Tonks blinked rapidly as Remus raised his eyes from a paper on his desk to meet her friend's gaze, and smiled mildly.

"Yes, Ms Perkins – something else you wanted to know?"

"No, sir – I wanted to apologise …" Who the hell was this? Tonks glanced at the guys, but both were staring, dumbfounded, at their other best friend. "I didn't mean to ask something so personal. It was out of line."

"Not in the slightest," Remus assured her, and Tonks marvelled at his ability to forgive. "I was the one who invited you to ask anything, and I assure you, no harm was done."

"All right, then … see you tomorrow, sir."

"Remus." Tonks stepped forward, making a slight gesture with her head to indicate she'd like a word. He smiled appreciatively. "Guys, I'll catch you up."

"Tonks …"

"Later, Drea." A moment later the door snapped shut, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm really sorry about her, you know …"

"No need for apologies, Dora," Remus said with a grin. "She didn't do anything I considered to be inappropriate; and anything she had done most certainly wouldn't be down to you. Anyway, I doubt you planned to wait just to talk about Ms Perkins."

"Well, I was planning on talking to my friend, but if he's going to act like a professorial git on me, then …"

"You love it." He came around his desk, not even lifting his eyes from the piece of parchment he was studying. She snorted disdainfully.

"You're deluded."

"And you're keeping your friends waiting."

"Not all of them." At that, he looked up, and a grin flitted across his face. She smirked and then stuck her tongue out teasingly. "How about a pillow fight for old times' sake?"

"Ha, ha," Remus said dryly. "Come on up," he laughed when she turned on her puppy-dog eyes, gesturing for her to lead the way up the spiral stairs to his chambers, located directly through the office above his classroom. Always the gentleman, of course, letting her go first. Tonks smiled gratefully and crossed his office confidently, stopping for a second outside the door at the opposite end of the room.

"Uh, sorry, maybe you should …"

"Oh, of course, allow me." But rather than pass her, he opened the door and held it there to allow her through. Tonks grinned – this was why she loved having Remus as a friend. Aside from the non-exhaustive list of things they had in common, he was her only male friend who treated her like a woman, and not just as 'one of the guys.' She liked it.

"Thanks," she said, winking and passing him. She heard him pull the door closed behind him, and now that they were definitely alone, she felt much more at ease. She wasted no time in kicking off her shoes and throwing herself onto his couch, curling her feet under her and sighing happily. "Oooh! Comfy."

"Please, make yourself at home!"

"Ta ever so," she taunted him, picking up a nearby cushion and flinging it at him. "Now, are you going to sit down and relax, or do I have to use the coffee table as my next projectile? I should warn you, my aim doesn't suffer with extra weight."

"Mass."

"Excuse me?"

"Mass," Remus repeated, shoving her feet along a bit and sitting down beside her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "The mass of an object is its size; weight is the force of gravity acting upon a given mass." Tonks blinked at him for a moment.

"And how in the _hell_ would you know?!" she demanded. He chuckled loudly.

"Elementary physics, Dora," he said, tapping the side of his nose lightly. She giggled gleefully, grabbing a cushion from behind him and propping it behind her own head.

"Know-it-all," she said teasingly. "And brilliant." He glanced sideways at her, and she knew he had clocked the change in her tone. "Seriously, Remus, today was great – I think everyone was suitably impressed with your handling of the situation. And you had some good answers too – I reckon you'll be a hit."

"Yes, well, only time will tell," he said offhandedly, but she caught the anxiety in his voice, and sat up a little straighter.

"Remus, if you're worried, you know you can talk to me."

"Let me guess: if I feel the need to run through all of my NEWT lesson plans for the year for practice, just let you know, right?" he teased, and she snorted.

"Only if you want to totally befuddle me!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Never," he replied, eyes twinkling in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Dumbledore. "But I do thank you, Dora – I'll bear it in mind. Now, what do you say to dinner and drinks in Hogsmeade?" She raised her eyebrows, and he cocked his head mischievously.

"Why Professor Lupin, you wouldn't be suggesting that one of your seventh-year students went into the village during unauthorised hours, would you?"

"I checked with Dumbledore when I signed on: students over fifteen are allowed to visit the village at any time as long as accompanied by a teacher. Of course, if you'd rather go to the Great Hall then I understand –"

"No!" Tonks said, perhaps a little too quickly; she blushed. "I mean, that's so overdone. I really want to spend some time with you, Remus. And dinner in Hogsmeade would be a wonderful change, if you're sure you won't be judged to be seen in public with one of your students."

"We're friends."

"What about one of your students who has god awful pink hair and can't walk ten feet without tripping over something?"

"When you put it that way, I think perhaps I could go for some of Hogwarts' best …"

"Git!" She smacked his arm, chortling, and he grinned as he got to his feet.

"Well come on, then! I may be willing to risk a little scandal on your behalf, Dora, but you have another think coming if you honestly expect me to do so with you still wearing your school uniform!"

"Oh!" Tonks chortled aloud as she also clambered from the couch, straightening her school skirt. "I don't know – it could certainly be interesting … the new, young, dashing Defence Professor has a fetish for young students in uniform. I wonder what Rita Skeeter would have to say about that particular gossip?"

"Rita Skeeter wouldn't be saying a word, because the Professor's current student of choice would have been sent on a silencing mission long before she got the chance," Remus joked right back, and Tonks giggled appreciatively.

"Only with your permission, sir."

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**A/N:** Okay, that was a random ending. But I thought a little light humour couldn't go amiss ... anyway, sorry for the dreadful filler chapter, but I promise action in the next chapter, and some more flashbacks soon after!!  
Thanks again for reading, and some reviews would be greatly appreciated :)

Alison xoxo


	4. III: A Daring Move

**Disclaimer:** I own Eric and Andrea, and deep inside his heart Remus knows I own him too ... but while he's in denial, I have to respect his wishes, and the restraining order, so I hereby defer all rights to everything recognisable over to one J.K. Rowling. Just an acquaintance of mine - nobody for you to worry about.

**A/N:** Yeah, this update was ready sooner than expected, so I thought I'd get it up to try and make up for the severe lack of them lately!! This whole fic is getting severely out of my control - this is not the plot I'd planned originally - but it doesn't seem to want to stop yet ... so if you're enjoying it, I'll keep going and let the muses lead me where they will, but if not I'll nip it in the bud early, considering I don't even know where it came from! Thanks to everyone who's read the last chapter - and thanks especially to my reviewers!! You made my day ... Now, on with the chapter ...

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"Missed you at dinner last night, Tonks."

"Oh, uh, I ate with Remus, actually." Tonks turned away from Andrea's accusing glare and concentrated extremely hard on pulling her books from her bag as she settled into her seat in DADA. Charlie rolled his eyes and sat next to her, and she saw Eric slide uncomfortably into his own chair alongside Andrea.

"Oh really?" Andrea hissed, lowering her voice as the man in question came through his office door and descended the stone staircase into the classroom. "Well, I know you think I'm interfering, Tonks, but –"

"Professor Lupin!" Everyone turned to the back of the room, startled, as the door banged open, and a very frazzled Professor McGonnagall strode in. McGonnagall _never_ got frazzled, and this more than anything caught everyone's attention. Tonks watched as Remus took a step forward, a frown creasing his brow.

"Professor McGonnagall?" he questioned. Tonks, along with the rest of the class, leant forward in her seat as McGonnagall reached him and began to murmur quietly but quickly. Unlike most, however, Tonks and Charlie were seated just a few feet from the front, and she was able to overhear every word.

"Remus, the rest of the Death Eaters have banded together and surrounded the school – we have to get out and meet them."

"Where's Albus?"

"Out of school until the day after tomorrow – they've blocked off all channels of communication; we've managed to alert the Order but nobody else. The Order can't get hold of any reinforcements – we're on our own. We need you to lead the charge."

"All right – gather up every teacher willing to fight and get yourselves down to the gates right away, and tell the Order to come straight through to my fireplace: I'll lead the air assault from up here once anyone arrives. Keep the students where they are – the Death Eaters will be expecting them to be in their common rooms or the Great Hall and those will be prime targets. Seal all the doors on the way out."

"Consider it done – take care of yourself, Remus."

"You too, Minerva." And with a brisk nod, the Deputy Headmistress was leaving the room again, and Remus was casting protective wards around the room, and opening his fireplace. Everyone broke out in murmurs, but only Tonks thought to say anything.

"You're not really leaving us all in here, are you?" she demanded. He glanced at her warily, then around the room, his wand still flicking discreetly.

"I most certainly am," he responded to the room at large. "You are to remain here, all of you. Under no circumstances are you to attempt to leave this classroom, no matter what you may see or hear. In the event of every single responsible adult in the school being rendered incapable of coming to release you, the power will fall to the Head Boy and Girl, who will require your assistance in seeing the younger students into the Great Hall, and possibly through the grounds to the train. You are seventh years and all of age – you know by now what it means to be responsible, and I expect you to act accordingly."

_Whoosh_. A few people screamed as a large man with several twisted scars and a revolving electric blue eye stepped out of the fireplace. He was closely followed by another half dozen witches and wizards, all bearing scars of some kind, all looking determined.

"Everyone here?" Remus asked, sweeping his wand through the air. The first man to enter the room nodded, his blue eye spinning wildly.

"Where's Minerva?" he asked gruffly.

"Rounding up the Professors and seeing to the welfare of the students – Alastor, you and Emmeline bring up the rear of the troupe, and I'll take point. Hestia, Dedalus, Sturgis, Aberforth – you four fall in between." The other adults all nodded their assent, and the man named Alastor rapped his walking stick hard on the ground. A moment later, seven broomsticks flew into the room from upstairs, and everyone grabbed one. Remus mounted up and opened the window with a wave of his wand.

"Alastor, seal the window after you," he instructed, and Tonks marvelled to see how every single one of these clearly older and more important witches and wizards fell to his command without a second thought.

"Remus!" she called out desperately, and he caught her eye briefly. "Be careful," she said, ignoring the startled glances from around her. He nodded curtly in her direction, before taking off out of the window, closely followed by the others. Alastor sealed the window firmly, and Tonks wasted no time in rushing to look out. Already Remus was a dark speck in the distance as he hurtled towards the grounds entrance, deftly deflecting dark spells and casting his own in a blur of light.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Charlie said in her ear, low enough that nobody else could hear him. "I mean, he's survived the main war, hasn't he? Dumbledore trusts him enough to appoint him our Professor when he's barely out of school himself. He must know a thing or two about defensive magic."

"I just … he's the oldest friend I have, and I'm scared for him. But you're right," Tonks added, raising her voice. "Professor Lupin _is_ good at defending himself."

"Defence, my eye!" a Ravenclaw called out. "He just Sectumsempra'd somebody!"

"No way!" Eric and Andrea, along with everyone else, had crowded around the windows alongside Tonks and Charlie. "That's really dangerous!"

"Well they're battling for their lives – of course it's dangerous!" Tonks snapped.

"Oh my God!" Charlie and Eric's only other fellow Gryffindor in the class let out a high-pitched scream, and everyone knew why. A jet of green light could be seen in the distance, and a dark shape collapsed on the ground. Tonks' whole body was shaking with fear – what if that had been Remus who fell? More and more blasts of green light began flashing back and forth, and several more dark shapes crumpled and lay still.

"Those could be our teachers!" Charlie said fiercely. "We're all of age, for Merlin's sake – we should be out there fighting with them!" He was Gryffindor all the way, and no mistake.

"Don't be an idiot!" Andrea snapped impatiently. "We're not even fully trained yet!"

"Charlie's right," Tonks interrupted, a determination she didn't know she possessed building inside of her. "Another six months or so won't make us much better prepared for life than we are now – and we've spent six and a half years with these people: we trust and respect them. I certainly don't want any of them out there, dying, because they're trying so hard to protect us! Could you live with the guilt? We're of age; we're allowed to do magic without permission; and yet they try and stop us. Well, screw that, I say!"

"What's your plan for getting out of here?" Eric asked quickly.

"Well …" She removed her wand and pointed it at the door. "_Bombarda_!" The whole door exploded with a loud bang, and several people ducked. Andrea looked livid, and Eric and Charlie impressed.

"Nice one," Charlie said. "Come on, then – anyone who doesn't want to fight, should probably seal this up again after we leave …"

"We're all coming with you," a Ravenclaw said determinedly. Even the Slytherins didn't dispute this, although more than one looked uncomfortable. "What's the plan?"

"Uh …" _Good question_.

"Maybe we should get Leon and Shelby?" suggested Andrea tentatively, voicing the closest thing Tonks could expect to acquiescence. And her idea wasn't a bad one – as Head Boy and Girl, Lean and Shelby did seem like the obvious choices …

"Does anyone know where they are?" Tonks asked, glancing around her. She was greeted by nothing but shrugs and blank stares. _Terrific._

"Well, we'll have to manage without them, won't we?!" Charlie stepped in fiercely. "We're not idiots – we're NEWT students; we can figure out a basic plan of attack! Besides, we don't have the time to waste combing the castle for them, so I say we do what we can as quickly as possible. We need something simple, and effective, and fast – something like –"

"Brooms?" Tonks finished quietly. Everyone turned to stare at her. "We can get the brooms with a Summoning Charm, and get out of here the same way the teachers did. We're doing this for them – I hardly think they'll mind if it saves their lives."

"Everyone, wands out!" Eric barked, drawing his own. A few moments later, _Accio_ resounded around the room, and everyone was forced to duck as thirteen broomsticks swept in through the now-open doorway, stopping to hover alongside their owners. Tonks grabbed her broom and swung one leg over, clambering on swiftly and gripping the handle as tightly as she could.

"Last one out, seal the window," she ordered, and felt a momentary rush as she realised that nobody even considered doing anything but what she told them. They were waiting, she realised, for someone to lead the charge. _For her_.

"Whatever you do, don't get yourself captured," Charlie said tersely from his own broom just alongside her. "Stay close together – we don't want anyone to get hurt."

"That's right," Tonks said, finding her own voice again. "This is a rescue mission, not revenge. Save yourselves and anyone else you can, and get the hell out of there if things turn bad. Like it or not, the Professors got one thing right – we have to be responsible about this. If things do go bad, someone has to watch out for the younger school. Everyone ready?" Nods all around. "All right … follow me!"

And without giving herself another second in which to risk losing her nerve, Tonks swept forward, blasting the window open ahead of her and darting through the widening gap at breakneck speed. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her throat was dry, but she kept herself going with the thought of everyone she was doing this for. _Charlie. Eric. Andrea. Professor McGonnagall. Sirius. __**Remus**_. The first clear shapes she was able to make out were those of a Death Eater she recognised as Igor Karkaroff, and the man called Sturgis from the fireplace. She drew her own wand and took aim, begging to God or Merlin or anyone who was listening that she would hit the right person.

"_Stupefy_!" she screamed as she hurtled over the walls, and she saw the unmasked figure topple from his broom, which only caused her to scream louder. She couldn't help but be relieved when she saw another Death Eater slow his fall. She wasn't ready to kill anyone.

"What in the HELL do you all think you're doing?!" Professor McGonnagall bellowed, her hair whipping out behind her as she drew up alongside Tonks, casting wordless spells and hexes around her feverishly. Her eyes blazed with fury as a masked figure aimed a jet of red light at Andrea, and Tonks gasped fearfully for her friend.

"_Incarcerous_!" McGonnagall screeched, slashing her wand through the air towards the culprit, who promptly found himself bound in ropes and toppling to the ground, no longer so far below. Tonks whipped around anxiously, and to her relief saw that Andrea was still in the air, hovering near Charlie and Eric.

"Professor –" Tonks began nervously, but she was cut off.

"I don't want to hear it, Miss Tonks! You get your fellow students and you get yourselves back up to the castle **immediately**!"

"But, Professor -!"

"NOW!"

"Tonks!" Charlie shouted in a panicked tone, and she turned just in time to see a dark shape hurtling towards her. She ducked as quickly as she could, flattening herself against her broom handle, and when she glanced up again she saw McGonnagall and the 'dark shape,' now identified as Bellatrix – Tonks cursed her name – hurtling through the skies, battling fiercely and mercilessly with wands and with manoeuvres.

"Tonks, you okay?" Eric called over to her, in between jinxes. She swallowed anxiously, thinking of the danger she had willingly led her friends into.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" she called back, hoping her voice sounded stronger than she felt. "I just got a little –"

"Professor!!" Andrea screamed suddenly, and Tonks turned round again so fast she felt her neck crack. With a sickening crunch, she saw and heard Professor McGonnagall hit the ground and remain there, perfectly still. _No_, Tonks thought desperately, _please don't be dead. Please, not McGonnagall, please _…

"Well, well!" A high pitched cackle rent the air, and Tonks' insides clenched. "If it isn't little baby Nymphadora! Crawl back into your playpen, _baby_!"

"_Impedi-_"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Bellatrix screeched before Tonks had a chance to finish her own spell, and her heart lurched as her wand soared into her aunt's waiting hand. This was it – this was how she was going to die. Everyone around her was engaged in some duel of their own, and the Hogwarts side was outnumbered at least two to one. And all she could think about was Remus. _Where was he??_

"Coward!" Tonks found herself crying out, before she had thought the words through. "Miserable, cowardly snake – give me my wand and I'll fight you head on!"

"Oh, the little baby's got a mouth on her!" her aunt taunted her, a twisted smile stretching her face and the blackness of her heart shining through dead eyes. "I'm going to enjoy this, Nymphadora! But just before … I'm sure your heart's breaking over dear old cousin Sirius, isn't it, Nymph?? Well here's the icing on the cake – he was innocent … poor baby Sirius … they switched at the last minute … yeah … set up by his little runt of a friend – oh, but a useful friend he has been to the Dark Lord, Nymph … _Crucio_!!!"

Pain like Tonks had never known shot through her body, and for a few endless moments she struggled to keep hold of her broomstick, refusing to give in this easily. _Sirius didn't do it. He was the good one all along. Sirius…innocent…_ But the pain became too much for her, and she felt her grip slacken as Bellatrix crowed high above her, wand still trained upon her prey.

"Little Nymphadora … !" The words reverberated through Tonks' brain in agonisingly slow motion as her hands slid from her broom handle and she felt herself tumble through the air, wishing more than anything for the pain to stop as her bones ground together and her muscles tightened even further …

"_Arresto momentum_!!"

"You half-blooded traitorous -!"

"Tonks!"

"_Mobilacorpus_!"

"_Stupefy_!"

"_Protego_!! _Cruc –_"

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

The last thing Tonks saw was a black, lifeless form, collapsing to the ground beside her, and a flash of cold, dead eyes, before her vision failed her and she slumped on the ground, unmoving.

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**A/N:** Not that I love cliffies or anything ... yeah, should probably warn you that I don't plan on telling you who the dead person is until the chapter after next. Sorry about that ... just the way the wind's blowing me at the moment ... anyway, as I said, this chapter is the start of things spiralling way out of my control, so I apologise if none of this seems realistic ... let me know?  
Thanks for reading!!

Alison xoxo


	5. IV: Revelations

**Disclaimer:** No-ot mine, no-ot mine, no-ot mine ... hell, even the DISCLAIMER isn't mine (Phoebe Buffay rocks!! ) so why on earth would you think I owned the characters? Because, just to be clear, I most certainly do not. Sadly.

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter :) I know this fic is a bit crazy, btw, but ... I don't know, I enjoy writing it, so if people still enjoy reading it then I'm happy to keep going anyway! And as I warned you, you won't find out who's dead this chapter, but hopefully it's got enough in it to keep you happy for the time being. I plan to update at least once more before Christmas, all going according to plan, so here's hoping!! Thanks a lot to everyone who's kept up with this, and reviews are loved :D

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"Tonks? Tonks!"

"She's unconscious, you idiot – she can't hear you!"

"Aren't you meant to talk to people in comas, though?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Charlie, she's not in a **coma**! She's just knocked out – and no wonder, either! I swear I've never been so scared …"

"I honestly thought she was dead for a while there …"

"Real positive thinking, guys!"

"Like you weren't just as worried as anybody?!"

"She's the one that took us out there – she knew what she was doing."

"Yeah, and you, Mr 'Stay-Close-Together' – where were you when she got _Crucio_'d?!"

"I was a little busy fighting off that Macnair weirdo, all right?!"

"Shut _up_!" Tonks croaked groggily. She had been woken up to the sounds of her friends' voices, arguing in raised whispers over her head. She blinked rapidly and found that not only was her head swimming, but also that her entire body ached.

"Tonks!" Andrea gasped out loud, and a second later the invalid in question found herself being smothered by what she could only assume was her best friend.

"Drea," she muttered hoarsely, "need – breathe …"

"Oh, sorry …"

"She's awake, then?" Madame Pomfrey bustled in, her features arranged in a disapproving frown. "Honestly – seventeen years old and out there fighting in death duels … thought I'd seen the end of those days with those blasted Marauders …"

"The who?" Eric asked interestedly, but the matron made a great show of ignoring him.

"Drink this," she ordered Tonks, passing her a gobletful of some disgusting brown liquid, which Tonks drank in one go just to save time arguing. "Good … you lot make sure she rests, understood? I catch one hint you've been getting her worked up, and you'll all be out on your ears and barred: understood?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey," Charlie and Eric mumbled ashamedly, and she nodded briskly before trotting off down the ward to another bed. It was only now that Tonks realised she was far from the hospital wing's only occupant.

"Who else?" she asked simply, and her friends exchanged glances. She felt all the blood drain from her face. "McGonnagall," she managed, not allowing herself to ask the question burning at the front of her mind just yet. "Is she … ?"

"She's alive, Dora." All thoughts of the pain were pushed aside as Tonks hoisted herself up in bed, gasping hopefully.

"Remus …" she breathed, feeling tears of relief stinging her eyelids as her eyes locked onto his. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching her with nothing but concern shining through his eyes. "My God, you're alive … but you're hurt …"

"Just a graze," he said with a weak smile. "Extremely high pain threshold – you ought to know that." Well, that much at least was true. Even still, Tonks didn't think an arm in a sling, a bandaged head and countless cuts and bruises was 'just a graze.' She fixed him with her best Black glare, and he pretended to recoil in fear.

"Remus John Lupin, if I find out you've lied to me …"

"You'll probably make my life a living hell," he supplied easily. "Understood perfectly, don't worry. I've been more worried about you than anything, though. How are you?"

"Oh, you know, just peachy, thanks."

"Dora." His eyes bore into her with an intensity that left her quite breathless.

"I'll be all right, Remus," she assured him quietly, and she saw a small smile of relief cross his face – the only sign he would allow that he cared for her as more than any other student. But it was enough.

"Good," he said softly. "You gave everyone quite a scare."

"No kidding!" Andrea muttered darkly, and Tonks grinned weakly.

"Sorry about that," she joked. "I was a bit distracted … oh, my God, Remus! Bellatrix, when she was cursing me, she –"

"Hush," Remus said soothingly, stepping closer and raising his good hand in an attempt to settle her down. "You shouldn't be going over that yet. You've had a terribly traumatic experience, and the last thing you need is to be reminded of it."

"No …" He didn't understand. "Before, she did it, she … she was taunting me, she … she told me something, Remus. She said … she said, Padfoot was innocent all along." She saw Remus' eyes widen and something flash across his face, and she nodded almost imperceptibly to reassure him. Her friends exchanged bemused glances above her head.

"Dora, he … he **was** responsible: I know it myself, much as I hate to believe it …"

"She said," Tonks pressed on defiantly, "that they switched at the last minute." Remus' jaw tightened and his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Who?" he asked, and his voice was little more than a growl. "Who switched?"

"She didn't say – she said, 'his little runt of a friend' …"

"Tonks, who are you talking about?" Charlie demanded impatiently, but Tonks didn't answer. She had seen comprehension dawn on Remus at the exact same moment the penny had dropped for her.

"Not runt," she breathed slowly. "**Rat** …"

"Wormtail …" Remus snarled bitterly, an uncharacteristically ugly expression twisting his mild features and reminding Tonks forcibly of the beast he became once a month. "That would explain why Padfoot went after him … all this time, he was nothing more than a tag-along, and now … he's still alive, isn't he?"

"I don't know," Tonks said honestly. "She didn't say … oh, I'm not saying she's right, Remus, but if she is …"

"I'm going to have to go," he said tightly, and she could tell he was fighting the urge to break all the bones in his one good hand by ramming it against the wall. "I have to speak to Albus – to Severus … you'll be all right?"

"Of course I will," she reassured him quickly, although a small part of her wished he would stay with her. She quickly pushed the thought aside – he was more than her friend now, he was her Professor, and it would be inappropriate. "But just … be careful, Remus, please," she implored him. "Don't do anything stupid. It would be typical if you were able to clear his name and got yourself locked up in the process. Whatever Snape or Wormtail have done, they're not worth your anger … just promise me you'll think things through before acting, would you?"

"What's going on here?" Andrea asked half-heartedly, seeming to already expect the silence she received in response.

"Promise me," Tonks repeated more forcefully, tears brimming over again.

"If it's true …" Remus said slowly, "you know he would deserve nothing more."

"But you do," she said desperately. "You deserve more than life in Azkaban! You have friends, Remus, you know you do – he's not worth throwing away your entire life for, if you find him. You're worth so much more than him."

"This is all assuming Bellatrix was telling the truth, and that he's still alive and I can track him down, remember."

"Assuming that, promise me you'll take care of yourself." They stared one another out for a few moments, but Tonks refused to give in. She wouldn't let another person she trusted get himself into trouble the way it appeared Sirius had done. Remus let out a sigh.

"All right," he said finally, and with what looked like great effort. "I promise. I'll owl you as soon as I hear anything – now, if you'll excuse me …"

"Take care, _Professor_," she cut him off jokingly, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. He snorted appreciatively and reached forward and squeezed her arm lightly.

"Same to you, Nymphadora."

"You great, sodding _git_! Take it back, or I'll –"

"Goodbye!" Remus called out smugly, already on his way out. A moment later the door swung closed behind him, and Tonks groaned and collapsed onto her pillow again, her head swimming. If it was true – if Peter really was behind everything – she would do everything in her power to see him locked away for life.

"Tonks!" Charlie's sharp voice brought her back to reality with a jolt, and she looked up at her three impatient friends bemusedly.

"What?" she asked innocently, and Andrea let out a derisive snort.

"You tell us," she replied simply, sitting down in a chair beside the bed and leaning back with her arms folded. Charlie and Eric followed suit, and Tonks sighed heavily.

"I …" She shrugged helplessly. "I can't tell you."

"Oh, you are **kidding** me!" Andrea snapped angrily. "Ever since Professor Lupin got here, it's been one thing after another! Hanging back after class to walk him to the Great Hall instead of us; going for dinner in Hogsmeade together; rushing into a death battle to save him – don't deny it, we all know it was for him – from the Death Eaters; and now all these secrets and code names and Merlin knows what else! Anyone would think you two had your own little bring-down-the-Ministry conspiracy going on, the way you talk – or worse."

"Wow, Drea, I didn't think **anything** was worse than disobeying the Ministry!" Eric feigned shock, and received a sharp blow to the back of his head.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Tonks cut in exasperatedly. "It's to do with the Death Eaters: I knew about some of it before because he and Sirius and James all talked to me about it, and now I had information to pass on … I'd tell you if I could, but it's just too dangerous. I mean, Remus will probably kill me when he gets back, **and** _Obliviate_ me."

"What are you saying, you don't trust us to –"

Charlie was interrupted by a flash of fire, and Andrea jumped in her seat. Tonks grabbed the piece of parchment attached to the phoenix feather, her heart pounding as she recognised Remus' handwriting.

_Dora,_

_Dumbledore performed Legilimency on captive – Wormtail alive. Going after him. Animagus form. Send news if you hear. Will be in touch soon._

_Take care,_

_Moony. _

Tonks let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, relief washing over her in waves. A moment later, however, it was replaced by anger. Peter was the one responsible. He was the reason James and Lily Potter were dead; the reason Remus' smile no longer quite reached his eyes; the reason Sirius was in Azkaban. _How could he_?

"Tonks?" Charlie prompted her slowly. "Is everything okay?"

"He's innocent," she murmured, her vision sliding slowly out of focus as she tried to take in this information. "He didn't do it. He's been wrongfully imprisoned."

"Tonks, who has? What are you on about?"

"I need … I need to sleep, guys … stay here with me?"

"Of course we will," Andrea said, her earlier hostility dropped for the moment. "Get some rest – we'll still be here when you wake up."

"Wake me in two hours," Tonks insisted. Eric opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off firmly. "I mean it. I have to have an idea what's going on. Two hours, all right?"

"Two hours," Andrea agreed quietly. "Sleep."

"All right …" Fears allayed for the moment, Tonks allowed herself to slip into a restless sleep, plagued with dreams about werewolves and phoenixes in pursuit of filthy rats …

It wasn't two hours later that Tonks woke up. It was more like forty minutes. She heard the voices before she saw faces – someone was arguing. She recognised Charlie's voice as one of the two, but couldn't place the other one.

"Honestly, Mum, would you keep it down?!"

His mother, then. Tonks had heard a lot about Mrs Weasley, but had never officially met the woman. Truth be told, she had hoped never to have to. She forced her eyes open and have them a few moments to readjust to the hospital lighting, before looking around and taking in her surroundings. Andrea and Eric stood on one side of her bed, exchanging furtive and nervous glances every few seconds, and Charlie stood at the foot of it next to a woman just a little shorter than him, with hair a matching shade of red and cheeks to match.

"Charlie, I am not leaving here yet whether you like it or not! When Professor McGonnagall called to say you'd been battling Death Eaters – whatever were you thinking, anyway?! – we thought you'd been killed, or at the very least injured!"

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Don't you get smart with me, young man! What could have possessed you?!"

"Charlie, did you kill anybody?!"

"Percy, honestly!!"

Tonks noticed then, for the first time, the mini-Charlie perched on the chair at the opposite side of her bed to where Eric and Andrea stood. He must only have been about six or so. She had had no idea there was such a gap between Charlie and his brothers – then again, she hadn't really asked, if she were honest with herself.

"Tonks!" Andrea gasped suddenly. "Charlie – she's awake again."

"Oh!" Charlie abandoned his argument with Mrs Weasley and joined his friends, leaning over Tonks' bed and looking worried about her. "Thought you said two hours?"

"Obviously wasn't as tired as I thought," Tonks muttered. "Any owls?"

"None from _him_, if that's what you really mean," Andrea said meaningfully. "But there was one arrived a while back from someone whose handwriting reminds me of your mother's."

"Great … my vision's a bit messed up, can you read it for me?"

"Sure …" Andrea unfurled the parchment and cleared her throat. "'_Nymphadora'_" – Tonks made a face – "'_I do not know what on earth you were thinking today! Professor Dumbledore says you were duelling with your aunt! Honestly, sometimes I wonder whether I have a seventeen-year-old girl or a twenty-six-year-old Auror! But you're far too clumsy for that. Look after yourself, dear, and Dad and I'll be there tonight to see you. All my love, Mum.'_ Oh, that's sweet!" Andrea finished.

"Typical," Tonks said, rolling her eyes. "I am **fine**!"

"Yeah, you look it, too," Eric commented. "Why won't you just lie back and let people worry about you for once, Tonks? You could have died today."

"So could all of you!"

"But you were by far the closest," Mrs Weasley interrupted, a motherly frown on her face. "Tonks, isn't it? Well, my dear, Charlie's told me all about you – I hear you were incredibly brave today. But you should all have known that the Professors could have handled it themselves, you know, and – argh!"

"Sorry, Mum!"

"Percy! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Where did you get that filthy thing from?" Mrs Weasley asked with a disapproving scowl towards something small writhing between the young Weasley's clasped hands.

"I found him! Well, he found me – he was outside, Mum, and he ran right up to me! Can I keep him, Mum? Please?" Percy put on puppy-dog eyes and pouted his lip in a very good – _almost too good_, though Tonks – impression of a girl several years his senior. Mrs Weasley sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I suppose so," she said. "Now, why don't we let Tonks get some rest?"

"No!" Tonks said, a little too quickly. "Uh, I mean, no, I'm not tired – I'd appreciate the company for a while." Mrs Weasley nodded understandingly and smiled a little before sitting down beside Percy. Tonks beckoned Charlie closer. "Do you have a quill?"

"Sure." He handed her one looking mystified, but Tonks merely grabbed her wand from her bedside and wiped clean her mother's letter, and scribbled a few short words on it. She then scrawled a name on the other side and sent it off with the owl who had delivered it and remained hovering on the windowsill.

"Writing to your mother, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked sympathetically. Tonks half-smiled.

"Close enough, Mrs Weasley." She watched through the window until the owl was no more than a black speck in the distance, and hoped her message made it in time. On the parchment she had written just five short words.

_Moony. Wormtail, here, now. Come._

Watching Percy playing with his new 'pet,' she just prayed she wasn't too late.


	6. V: Prove It

**Disclaimer:** Sigh. I own everything you don't recognize, and that includes the plot. If you've seen it before, then it's probably not mine, unless someone else is plagiarizing from me. Drop me a line if you hear of anyone doing so, yeah? There's one in particular, some JK Rowling woman – she's well known for it. Keep a sharp eye, would you? I'd appreciate it ;)

**A/N:** Hey, this update isn't TOO overdue!! I've done not too badly, I don't think … and it's about three and a half thousand words to boot, which isn't the longest I've ever written, but I do think it's the longest so far in this fic. So, yeah, enjoy :D

* * *

Unsurprisingly, everyone in the Hospital Wing jumped about a mile in the air when the door suddenly banged open about twenty minutes later. Tonks had received no response to her owl, but she knew the second the door opened that it had been received – and what's more, with time to spare. The Weasleys had as yet shown no signs of leaving, for which she was extremely grateful.

Charlie, Andrea and Eric all exchanged bemused glances and stood up as Remus burst into the room, his eyes blazing, and Dumbledore followed immediately after him, looking almost equally angry. For the first time, Tonks could see why he was considered not only the most powerful wizard alive, but also the most frightening. She reminded herself mentally never to get on the wrong side of the Headmaster, and then began shuffling about in bed, determined to be at Remus' side for this. He caught her eye, and she pointed to the rat now squirming furiously in Percy's hands in answer to his unasked question.

"Headmaster!" Mrs Weasley gasped. Tonks had almost forgotten she was there. "What's going on – has someone been hurt?"

"Not yet," Remus muttered, never lifting his gaze from the rodent. Dumbledore laid a hand quickly on the younger man's shoulder, presumably to calm and restrain him. _Fat chance_, Tonks thought bitterly.

"Drea," she said in the strongest voice she could muster, "help me up."

"Tonks!"

"Do it!" she interrupted forcibly. "I have to be up for this."

"Professor; Headmaster – I really must protest!" Madame Pomfrey snapped, bustling up the ward at remarkable speed. "This girl could have died today! The last thing any of these young people need is –"

"Poppy, my apologies, but this is a matter of utmost urgency, otherwise, I assure you, I would never dream of disturbing your patients. We shan't be long," Dumbledore assured her, removing his hand from Remus' shoulder. "Remus, help Miss Tonks to her feet, will you? I believe she's right. She deserves to be a part of this."

"You all right?" Remus asked quietly as he came to Tonks' bedside and slid one arm around her back, and used the other to grip her arm tightly so as to help her balance.

"Yeah, fabulous," Tonks returned, leaning on him as he helped her out of the bed. She stumbled slightly as her feet reached the ground, but he held her firmly, and she was able to regain her balance relatively quickly. She put her full weight on her own feet, testing them, and found she was able to stand. She nodded to Remus. "I'm okay," she said. "I can stand. Besides, Charlie – you'll stay with me, right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Charlie said, coming to her side and placing a supporting hand around her waist. Remus nodded and stepped back, before turning his gaze back onto the rat.

"Albus, may I?"

"Indeed you may, my dear boy," the Headmaster said, a slightly saddened expression crossing his features for a brief moment, before his anger returned.

"Thank you … Percy, isn't it?"

"Yup," Percy said surprised, glancing at his mother, who smiled reassuringly. Of course, Tonks had forgotten – Remus had known Charlie's uncles well.

"That's one feisty rat you have there," Remus commented.

"He found me outside," the boy explained. "I think he misses his friends – Mum said I can keep him, though! I'm going to call him Scabbers."

"Scabbers? Why Scabbers?"

"'Cause he's all covered in bald patches and he's missing a toe." Remus and Dumbledore exchanged significant glances, although the reason was lost on Tonks.

"Percy," Remus began again carefully, "I wonder if I could hold … Scabbers, for a moment? I have an idea about where he might have come from, and if I'm right, and we have to return him, then we'll make sure you get a new rat. Would that be all right?" Percy appeared to be thinking it over, then shrugged half-heartedly and turned over the rat.

"'Kay," he said in a bored sort of way. Remus took 'Scabbers' in his hands, and a second later his expression hardened and his eyes flickered once more.

"It's him," he muttered angrily. The rat squirmed feverishly in his grip, doing anything to escape its captor's clutches, supposedly, but Tonks suspected he knew he'd been caught out and was about to be revealed. Remus stepped back from Percy a little, holding the rodent in front of him, dangling by the tail in his left hand, and drew his wand slowly. He prodded the creature lightly in its belly with the tip of his wand.

"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked sharply, and Remus nodded sternly.

"I'd know him a mile off," he muttered darkly. The Headmaster sighed.

"Very well," he said. He threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace and shouted into it. "Millicent!" A moment afterwards, the Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold, stepped out of the grate, and after her came a slightly deranged-looking Sirius Black. Molly screamed, followed by Andrea; Charlie and Eric both paled visibly; Percy looked mildly curious as only a child can; Tonks swallowed nervously; and Remus lifted his glance from the rat to look into his oldest friend's eyes. Sirius' own eyes darted around the room manically for a moment, not helping his cause in the slightest, before coming to rest on Remus'. He took a shaky step forward, causing half of the room to flinch, and reached out a hand slowly towards the dangling rodent.

"Is that …?" He trailed off, his voice little more than a croak. Remus nodded curtly, never lifting his wand from where it pointed. Sirius' face broke into a twisted grin, scaring even Tonks. She had never seen him like this before – he really **did** look as mad as they said.

"Dumbledore, I don't have all day," Bagnold snapped, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her swiftly.

"Remus …" Sirius muttered, his eyes alight as he stared at Scabbers. "I would have told you, you know, but it was for your own good – for everyone's own good … and I never dreamt little Peter would be clever enough to …"

"I understand," Remus said quietly, but Sirius continued.

"I have to say it, Moony … I'm so, so sorry." Remus nodded once more, turning his gaze back onto the matter at hand.

"All is forgiven, Padfoot," he said with a faint smile. "Now, if you would care to do the honours …" He handed over his wand without so much as a second thought – a great gesture of trust, Tonks thought, all things considered – and stepped back, holding the rat at arm's length. Sirius grinned even broader.

"Don't mind if I do," he hissed, and brought the wand down in a sweeping motion, causing a blinding flash of blue-white light to engulf the room. When Tonks opened her eyes, the light had disappeared – and so had the rat. In its place was a trembling, pathetic little man, overweight and already balding, and filthy to boot. She felt her throat constrict at the mere sight of him – **this** was their traitor.

"Peter Pettigrew?!" Molly gasped, before fainting into a chair. Nobody paid her any heed.

"It's impossible," Charlie said faintly. "He's dead – _he_ killed him!"

"I wish I had," Sirius growled, stepping forward and roughly shoving the borrowed wand between Pettigrew's eyes. Peter whimpered weakly.

"Someone – someone take him away!" he squeaked in a frightened tone. "He tried to kill me once, and he's going to try again! He's already betrayed our best friends! Remus – Remus, thank Merlin – stop him!"

"Not so sure I'd like to, actually, Peter," Remus said conversationally, moving to stand at Sirius' side. "After all, there is some doubt as to whether or not he's guilty, now that you've shown up alive and well. Just out of interest – how **did** you get away from him?"

"I – well, he – he's _mad_, Remus! He – he betrayed James and Lily and then turned on me! What was I supposed to do – what would you have done?! The world deserved to know what he had done! He was going to kill me before anybody got a chance to find out! I – I panicked; I transformed, and then … with me 'dead,' he went to Azkaban – he got to be punished for what he did to our friends!"

"How DARE you?!" Sirius bellowed suddenly, and Tonks jumped a little, feeling Charlie grab at her quickly to steady her. Remus, on the other hand, stood perfectly still, his features smoothed into his best unreadable expression, but certainly displaying no sympathy for the man bearing the brunt of Sirius' anger. "You worthless piece of scum; how dare you talk about James and Lily?! How dare you lie about them right to my face?! You're the reason they're dead, Peter, you and nobody else!"

"Wh-what?" Peter spluttered, his cheeks red and his eyes shifty. "I don't know, what you're talking about, Sirius – Remus, he's lying, he – I wouldn't, I –"

"You did everything he said, and worse, you're still trying to cover it up," Remus said quietly, but there was a perilous note to his voice that suggested it would not be wise to argue or interrupt him. Sirius' eyes flashed dangerously in approval as Remus continued, oblivious to the frightened glances everyone around was exchanging. "You sold out the only people in the world who trusted you, Peter. I wouldn't have asked you to be my Secret Keeper were I in James' position – I would have placed my faith elsewhere. Oh, it's true, I never suspected Voldemort would have come after you – I presumed he wouldn't think you worth his while. But even so, I wouldn't have taken the risk. James trusted you with his life, with Lily's, with Harry's … and you turned him over to Voldemort. We should have guessed, you little **rat**!" He spat the last word so vehemently that Peter let out a little squeak of terror, and Sirius pressed Remus' wand more forcefully against their former friend's head, picking up where Remus had left off.

"I suppose you're right, Peter," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "I do deserve to be punished – after all, I encouraged James to choose you. But I would never have done it had I thought you would turn out to be a traitor! You had been fretting for months, I bet – maybe even years – about how you could prove your worth to your Master, and there the opportunity was, handed to you on a silver platter! You took advantage of your friends; you used us; you sold us out! You're filth!"

"And you've hurt yourself more than anyone," Remus added distastefully. "The only people who would ever have called you 'friend' are now either dead, or after your blood. Because I assure you, we **are** after your blood, Peter. You think Voldemort's supporters would welcome you back with open arms? If you hadn't sent your Master to Godric's Hollow, he'd still be around today. But thanks to you, little Harry was able to bring him down. And you went into hiding after he fell – you didn't voice your allegiance to him as so many of those other Death Eaters did. You ran. If they were to find out you were alive, they'd make it their mission to bring down the man responsible for Voldemort's demise. Death Eaters show no mercy, Peter."

"And I'm not so inclined to show any myself, now," Sirius growled.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Padfoot," Remus agreed coldly.

"You – Remus, you – you have no idea, of the weapons, the Dark Lord, he – he would have killed me if I hadn't given him something! I had no choice!"

"There is **always** a choice!" Remus cut him off, raising his voice for the first time and allowing his anger to blaze in his eyes. "You chose all right, Peter – you chose Voldemort over your friends! You chose to betray in order to achieve your own selfish ends! You had the choice between life and death – yours and theirs – and you killed them! You may not have taken your wand to them, but you may as well have! You're the reason they're dead, and it was through nothing but **choice**!"

"Remus." Dumbledore stepped forward and raised a hand in silence. "I think we've heard enough. Millicent?"

"Quite," the Minister agreed, her face contorted with rage. "_Incarcerous_!" Ropes appeared from nowhere and snaked around Pettigrew's body, holding him perfectly still. Remus immediately grabbed his wand unceremoniously from Sirius' hand and pointed it directly at his onetime friend.

"_Petrificus totalus_!" he intoned hurriedly. When met by bemused looks from all angles, he shrugged. "He's an Animagus," he reminded them all simply. "And I don't trust him."

"Quite right, Remus," Dumbledore agreed softly. "Now, I think it best that we remove Mr Pettigrew from such a place of recovery … Millicent, if you would accompany me, I think perhaps my office would be an appropriate place to await the arrival of your Aurors."

"Yes, of course, Dumbledore," Bagnold confirmed. She levitated Pettigrew's frozen form and made to leave the room, when Remus stopped her.

"And Sirius?" he asked simply. Tonks felt her eyes widen, mirroring the expressions of most everyone in the room, particularly Sirius. She heard him suck in his breath and felt a pang for her older cousin – he never would have expected to have anyone stand up for him like this again. It just wasn't fair. At some point during Remus and Sirius' little tirade, Mrs Weasley had awoken, and she too now watched the unfolding scene with interest, apparently satisfied that Sirius wasn't a threat. Bagnold raised her eyebrows and looked Remus up and down, before her gaze moved slowly over Sirius and to rest on Dumbledore.

"Well, you will have to attend a trial, Mr Black," she said, her eyes snapping back to Sirius. "But it will not be your own. I shall require testimony from everyone in this room, in order to fully convict Mr Pettigrew here. Normal practice would suggest that you be kept in a holding cell until that date –"

"**What**?!" Remus spluttered indignantly.

"Moony, leave it be," Sirius muttered in a resigned sort of tone. "At least I know this time I have a chance of getting out – I can handle it …"

"I hadn't finished, Mr Black," Bagnold informed him, a slight smile on her face. "As I was saying, precedent dictates that you be held in Azkaban until trial, as you have not yet been officially cleared … but, being Minister for Magic, and having seen what I have here today, it is my opinion that you – both of you, Mr Lupin – have suffered enough for the time being. If Dumbledore will give me his assurance that you will not attempt to leave the country or escape trial, I am willing to release you into his custody instead." Tonks, along with everyone else, switched focus, so that nine pairs of eyes now focussed directly on Dumbledore. He smiled serenely.

"Naturally, I will vouch for him, Millicent," he said simply, and Tonks let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Remus and Sirius were sporting identical grins, and Charlie squeezed Tonks' hand reassuringly. She glanced up to meet his eye, and he smiled and winked at her. Dumbledore, Bagnold and Pettigrew left the room just then, and the second the door closed, Sirius let out a whoop of joy.

"Yes!" he shouted delightedly, jumping in the air and taking in a deep breath.

"Congratulations, Padfoot," Remus said quietly, his entire face lit up in a way Tonks hadn't seen since before the War. Sirius grinned, and before anyone was really aware of what was going on, he had taken the few short steps to where his old friend was standing, and pulled him into a brotherly embrace. Remus laughed aloud and patted his friend on the back, still grinning broadly himself.

"Moony, I don't know how to thank you," Sirius said in a more sombre tone as he stepped back and ran a hand through his matted hair. "I never thought anyone would get to hear my side of the story – or believe me if they did, I … how did you know?"

"I had a little help," Remus admitted, inclining his head towards Tonks. Sirius turned, and when their eyes locked, she suddenly couldn't hold it back any longer. The tears she had been fighting since hearing that Sirius might be innocent suddenly took hold, and she ducked her head in an effort to conceal them. A second later, warm arms were around her and a hand was ruffling her hair.

"Come on, Nymphie, don't cry." Now **that** was the Sirius she remembered.

"You're a great, colossal git," she muttered into his shirt. "And my name is **Tonks**!"

"Aw, come on – Moony gets to call you by a nickname!" Sirius pouted, stepping back and surveying her like a proud brother. Which, she guessed, in a sense, he was. To her, anyway. Not that she would ever admit it.

"It's not my fault he's incorrigible," she replied with a snort. "Besides, he's the nice one. You, on the other hand, I would feel no guilt about hexing into oblivion for using stupid, childish, horrendous nicknames for me."

"Point well taken," he chortled, and his laughter was so infectious that it was only moments before she had joined in. He let out another great hoot of delight and swept her into his arms again, lifting her right off the ground and twirling her in the air, both of them still laughing. She suddenly felt even guiltier than ever for doubting him – this was _Sirius_. He could never have done the things he was accused of, and she wanted to kick herself repeatedly for ever thinking otherwise.

"I'm so sorry for doubting you, Sirius," she said as he put her down. "It's just that with Regulus and Bellatrix, and … I don't know, I guess I let myself be sucked in by the rumours. But I'm sorry, and I'll never doubt you again," she promised. Sirius chuckled lightly and cuffed her affectionately around the ear.

"Dear little Tonks," he said in mock seriousness, "the entire wizarding **world** thought I'd done it. Hell, even I'm rather surprised to be discovering I haven't actually killed anyone of late! And you – and Moony, of course – are the reason I'm being set free. You ever apologise about this again and I'll be the one doing the hexing, understood?"

"And I assure you, Dora, he is more than serious about that," Remus added, looking at the pair with some sort of amusement in his eyes.

"No, Remus, not more than – just Sirius," the other man countered, and while everyone else seemed to find this insanely amusing, Tonks merely exchanged eye-rolls and exasperated faces with Remus. Just then, the door to the Hospital Wing burst open loudly, and everyone whirled around to face the newcomers.

"Nymphadora Tonks!" Andromeda screeched. "I cannot believe you could be so stupid! You know better than to endanger yourself like that! You're coming home with us to recover, young lady, and don't you even think about –"

"Andie!" Sirius cut her off, sounding quite delighted. Andromeda and Ted caught sight of the 'convict' for the first time, and Andromeda stopped talking suddenly. Tonks watched amusedly as her parents gaped at him for a moment, before her dad turned and fled the room, looking petrified, and her mum let out a high-pitched scream, and promptly fainted in the middle of the doorway. Andrea and Charlie rushed forwards to help her, and Eric, Percy and Mrs Weasley let out gasps of horror. Tonks, meanwhile, caught hold of Remus' gaze out of the corner of her eye, then turned a little and found Sirius also watching her. The three of them looked amongst themselves for a brief moment, before bursting into peals of hysterical laughter, not caring about the looks being directed at them from every corner of the room.

_Finally_, Tonks thought, _finally, everything was back to normal_.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you who was dead, I know … don't worry, I PROMISE it will come out next chapter. Next chapter also has the long-awaited flashback I've been promising, and the revelation about the death kind of leads into that, so I didn't want to spoil it for you too early. Forgive me? Thanks for reading – reviews and concrit are appreciated :)

Alli xoxo


	7. VI: Fun And Games

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing except the plot. I just like playing around with the characters a little. Is that so wrong, I ask you?**

**A/N:**** Okay, so I know I haven't updated in the longest time. But I've had a LOT on in my life, and I haven't had time to do much writing. Aside from that, I had stopped writing HP for a while because I couldn't get much inspiration. But some of the family problems have died down, exams are over for the time being, and I'm now fully settled at university, so life is slightly less pressurised, and I thought I would try to get back into HP fanfic. I managed to get some inspiration back for this fic, and better late than never, as they say! I'm hoping it will last and I'll be able to update again soon, but I can't make any promises. If you enjoy the fic, then just be patient, and I'll stick with it whenever I can. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and alerted this story, and I hope you enjoy this slightly longer chapter, however delayed it may be!**

"Padfoot!! Get your disgusting feet off of my couch!"

"But Moooooony! I'm boooored! Let's go **do** something, for Merlin's sake!" Tonks chuckled to herself as she heard the old friends arguing at the top of the stairs. Sirius had been allocated lodgings in Hogwarts as part of the agreement for Dumbledore to keep an eye on him, and it appeared that as a result, he had spent the past two days hovering in Remus' quarters, trying to amuse himself. Tonks was surprised more people hadn't figured out he was there yet, but it seemed to only be those who had been present for the great confrontation who were in the know.

"I **am** doing something, Sirius – I'm marking."

"Yeah, because that was **exactly** what I had in mind." She could practically see her cousin's eyes rolling. She had only been released from the Hospital Wing about two hours earlier, and after taking a shower and catching up briefly with Andrea, she had managed to convince her friend to accompany her to visit Sirius. When they had confirmed that he wasn't in his own quarters, she immediately led Andrea towards Remus' rooms, where they soon discovered both Marauders were taking refuge.

"Hello?" she called out, knocking and opening the door without waiting for a response. She went straight in, Andrea trailing unsurely behind her, and was greeted with a smile and a wave from Remus at his desk, and a great big grin from Sirius, sprawled barefoot on his friend's sofa surrounded by about a dozen unopened Butterbeers.

"Tonks!" Sirius shouted delightedly. "All healed?"

"Naturally," she retorted, flopping down beside him without waiting to be asked. "I'm tough. Little fall wasn't going to keep me down."

"We really need to work on your definition of the word 'little,'" Remus commented sarcastically without lifting his head from the pile of parchment he was poring over in the corner. Tonks rolled her eyes and indicated that Andrea should sit down, which the other girl did, looking first at Remus and then Sirius as though expecting to be told off. When no reprimand came, she seemed to relax ever so slightly and sat back in the chair she had claimed.

"How far did she fall?" Sirius asked, looking over her head towards Remus.

"About four hundred feet," the other man responded. Sirius gasped.

"What?! She did not!"

"I assure you, she did."

"I am right here, you know!" Tonks called out indignantly, offended at being discussed as though she were invisible. Sirius merely waved a dismissive hand in her direction and turned back to Remus, causing Tonks to sit back with her arms folded in a sulk.

"You're wrong," Sirius declared simply. Remus finally raised his head to look his old friend in the eye, eyebrows arched.

"Because it happens so often that I'm right about something and you're wrong, of course, doesn't it?"

"Don't be a git, Moony, I was almost incarcerated!"

"Actually, you **were** incarcerated," Remus pointed out with a smirk, glancing back at his marking and scribbling a note on the top piece of parchment.

"My point exactly," Sirius retorted airily. "Join me for a Butterbeer, ladies?"

"Sure," Tonks shrugged, taking the bottle he held towards her. He winked at her, the grin still affixed to his face, and opened her drink with a wave of his wand. He then held a second bottle towards Andrea, who looked surprised at being addressed.

"Oh! Uh, thank you, but I don't know …"

"Oh, come on, what could it hurt?" Sirius pointed out persuasively. Andrea glanced at Tonks for support, but frankly, she was enjoying the show.

"I really don't think so …" the other girl said quietly, and Sirius smiled enticingly.

"Come on … you know you want one," he teased her, and she looked positively frightened now. Tonks knew she should say or do something, but she had never had much luck in keeping Sirius under control, and was loath to begin trying now.

"Padfoot, would you refrain from harassing seventeen-year-old girls for long enough to take this to the Owlery for me?" Remus intervened, holding out a rolled-up parchment with a benign smile and a slightly quirked eyebrow. Not seeming in the least insulted by the insinuation in the sentence, Sirius bounded to his feet, seeming delighted to have something to do at long last.

"Be back before you've had time to miss me," he promised gleefully.

"Oh, of that I have no doubt," Remus said dryly.

"Ha!" Tonks snorted aloud, highly amused. Sirius flicked his wand at his friend, presumably to jinx him in some way, but Remus deflected the curse with a wave of his hand. The silvery light redirected itself across the room, and one of Remus' many books turned into a pink fluffy cushion. Sirius muttered something about know-it-alls and how he hated wandless magic, before transforming into his Animagus form of a great black dog and leaving the room. Remus rolled his eyes after him.

"My oldest friend he may be," he said, addressing both Tonks and Andrea, "but the man is a pollution. I'd forgotten how infuriating it was to share a room with him."

"He's not living here, is he?" Tonks asked, shocked, and Remus hastened to explain.

"No, no," he said quickly. "Thank Merlin for that, no, he is not. But it feels as though he may as well be. Having him hover over my shoulder when I'm working at midnight brings back odd memories of our Hogwarts days."

"Because of course he wouldn't be doing any work himself," she finished knowingly.

"No, well, Padfoot and Prongs always did seem to be able to get by with the minimum possible amount of effort," he agreed. "But they did enjoy midnight prank-plotting sessions, when some of us were trying to work. I maintain to this day that they only did it that way to irritate me. But then, they wouldn't have been my friends if they didn't know me well enough to know how to get under my skin."

"You must be glad to have him back," Tonks commented, and Remus smiled.

"As crazy as he is, I am," he confessed. "I was devastated to learn that Peter had been our traitor, of course, but … I don't know, it was somehow much easier to bear than thinking it had been Sirius. Peter was never truly one of us."

"Professor?" Tonks turned, surprised, to see Andrea leaning forward in her seat, looking a little uncertain but interested nonetheless. Remus smiled at her, setting down his quill. He then crossed the room and sat down alongside Tonks, helping himself to a bottle.

"Yes, Ms Perkins?" he queried politely. Tonks was even more stunned to see Andrea actually blushing as she cleared her throat.

"Professor, I just, um … well, thank you. For getting him to lay off. It's not that I don't like Butterbeer; I just really don't feel like it, so thank you. And, uh, I was just curious … well, where did you learn wandless magic, sir?" Remus smiled.

"It's something I've always been interested in," he confessed. "We learnt a little about it in seventh year, and it fascinated me, so I read up a little on it. It took some work, but it was something I was committed to, and I managed to teach myself the basics. A lot of the difficulty lies in the theory of wandless magic, and I've always been a bit of a bookworm, I admit. I'm certainly glad I took it up – it has proven invaluable on more than one occasion recently."

"I can imagine," Andrea nodded. "That's very impressive, sir."

"Well, thank you," Remus acknowledged, inclining his head as he popped the top off of his bottle with a flick of the wrist and took a sip of Butterbeer. "So, what brings you two ladies up here on a lovely day like today? Wouldn't you rather be spending time with your friends?"

"I do hope you're not back to this nonsense about not being my friend, Remus," Tonks said warningly, mock-glaring at him. "Sirius might have something to say on that little matter, you know."

"And **I** hope you're not suggesting I ought to be afraid of him," he replied with a chuckle. "But for what it's worth, I meant nothing of the sort. It's just that I don't think I can offer you much entertainment, and I certainly can't let Sirius be seen in the grounds. Until Peter's trial, he has to remain out of sight, or risk causing a mass panic."

"We could always take your dog for a walk," Tonks joked, and the other two laughed aloud.

"Actually, he would probably appreciate it," Remus answered, smiling. "I'm afraid he's never been very good at staying still, as you've no doubt noticed. I have a lot of marking to do, or I would have taken him out already myself."

"What do you reckon, Drea?" Tonks asked, turning to her friend. Andrea smiled widely.

"It sounds fun," she agreed. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind, Professor?"

"You would be doing me a favour," Remus assured them. "He would get some of that excess energy out of his system, and I would get peace to work for a little while. These papers shouldn't have taken longer than an hour, and I've already been at it for three. He really is the most dreadful distraction."

"Love you too, Moony," Sirius said sarcastically, coming through the open door and transforming back into a man as he spoke. "Letter sent. And you owe me for not playing tag with the owls. It's so much fun!"

"You're five years old."

"Better than being fifty."

"Some of us have work to do, Padfoot."

"How boring."

"Well then it's a good thing nobody was asking you to help, isn't it?"

"You're no fun, Moony," Sirius grouched, slumping on the couch once more. "We need to loosen you up. How about we go Permanently Stick McGonagall's hat to her head?"

"No," Remus said flatly, taking another sip of his drink.

"Why not?!" Sirius demanded indignantly.

"Because the last time we did that, she had to spend three hours re-growing her hair."

"Your point being?"

"She also turned you into a fluffy white rabbit for three days."

"And you got out of it with nothing but a detention," Sirius finished, "so why are you the one who's worried about it?!"

"Because," Remus sighed, "I am a Professor, Sirius. I cannot go around playing pranks on my colleagues and expect to keep my job. And I happen to like this job, whether you believe that or not."

"We didn't call you Professor Moony for nothing," Sirius reminded him. "I'll take the fall!"

"McGonagall will kill you, Sirius," Tonks pointed out, and he merely shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time she'd tried," he informed her with a grin, and she stifled a giggle. Andrea wasn't so successful, and laughed aloud.

"Did you really stick her hat onto her head?" she enquired.

"Oh, yeah."

"That takes guts," she admitted. "I'm sufficiently impressed."

"You want to come watch what happens?" Sirius suggested, smirking, and her face fell, and she turned white.

"Oh, uh, no, thank you." He sighed dramatically.

"Why does nobody want to **do** anything?!"

"I tell you what, Sirius," Tonks said, draining her bottle and getting to her feet. "Why don't you transform, and we'll take you for a walk in the grounds? We can borrow a ball from Charlie, I'm sure. You be a good dog for five minutes and we'll go get it."

"Excellent idea!" Sirius exclaimed, his face lighting up. "You coming with, Moony?"

"Work beckons, I'm afraid," Remus said with a wry smile. "I'll come and find you when I finish marking these essays."

"You'd better," Tonks warned him jokingly, and he held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'd be afraid not to," he retorted with a laugh. "Thank you, Dora; Ms Perkins. I'll catch up with you in a little while."

"See you, Remus," Tonks called over her shoulder as she led Andrea out of his quarters, followed by dog-Sirius. She allowed her friend to pass her and grabbed Sirius by the scruff of the neck, bending down to look him in the eye. "Now you be a good little Padfoot," she muttered, grinning evilly, "or I'll neuter you with my wand, got it?" He blinked mournfully up at her before giving a doggy-nod of assurance. She nodded, satisfied, and let him go, patting him on the head and scratching him behind the ear. "Good boy."

"What if one of the Professors sees us with him?" Andrea asked uncertainly.

"They know he's innocent," Tonks said with a shrug. "The worst they can do is tell us to take him back to his room. It's not like he's a real dog that's going to get out of control. Are you, Padfoot?" He let out a low 'woof' and shook his head, and the girls giggled.

"He's a very intelligent dog," Andrea commented with a smirk, and Tonks returned it.

"Yeah. Shame about the fleas." Padfoot barked aloud, and sent them both into fits of laughter. They entered the Entrance Hall, where Charlie was standing deep in conversation with a couple of his fellow Gryffindors.

"Hey, Charlie!" Andrea called as they descended the stairs. He turned and grinned up at them, the grin turning into a knowing chuckle as he caught sight of the dog bounding down ahead of them. Padfoot reached him first and jumped up to lick his face, panting happily, and Charlie ruffled his head with a grin.

"Good boy," he laughed. "Good boy! Are you getting some fresh air, huh?"

"He is," Tonks agreed as she and Andrea reached the knot of Gryffindors, most of whom were eyeing the dog suspiciously. "We were wondering if we could borrow a ball?"

"Doggy here isn't going to slaver all over it, is he?" Charlie joked, looking down at Sirius, who barked and shook his head, allowing his tongue to loll out. The redheaded boy laughed again and produced a ball about the size of his fist from a pocket, handing it to Tonks with a wink.

"Cheers, Charlie," she said appreciatively. "Come on, Padfoot. Walkies!"

"I swear that dog is glaring at you," said Jenny, one of the Gryffindors, with her eyebrows raised. Tonks chuckled and ran a hand over the fur on Padfoot's back.

"He's a very smart dog," she said offhandedly.

"You know what they say about dogs and their owners," Andrea chimed in.

"Whose dog is he, anyway?" Jenny asked.

"Professor Lupin's," Tonks said. "His name's Padfoot, and he's been going stir-crazy, apparently. We offered to take him out to play, because he's just too adorable. Aren't you, Padfoot?" He growled at her, but his eyes gleamed, and she, Charlie and Andrea all laughed.

"Don't think he likes being called 'adorable,'" Charlie grinned.

"I think he's desperate to get out and run around," Tonks said. "We'd better get going. We'll see you at dinner, yeah?"

"Sure. See you later."

"Bye, Charlie," Andrea added as she and Tonks headed out of the main doors. As soon as the sun hit him, Padfoot let out a joyful bark and bounded down the stairs and across the grass, chasing his own tail delightedly. The girls ran after him, unable to control their own laughter as they caught up with him, watching him run in circles at dizzying speed.

"He's so happy," Tonks observed with a smile. Andrea glanced at her, and she sighed a little as she elaborated. "It must have been torture for him to be locked up the way he was. He's finally got his freedom, and he was trapped inside four walls. This must be heaven on earth for him."

"He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?" her friend asked curiously. Tonks nodded.

"Apart from my parents, he was the only relative I wasn't ashamed of," she confessed, lowering her voice slightly so Sirius wouldn't hear. "And he always looked out for me." That at least was true. And the family had shrunk significantly since the final battle outside Hogwarts. It turned out that the death Tonks had witnessed through her haze was in fact her aunt. Bellatrix had been felled by a Killing Curse of Remus', inflicted upon her when she tried to _Crucio_ Andrea. Tonks wasn't sorry to see the back of her. The woman had been altogether evil, and Remus had saved both her and her friend's lives.

"You looked out for him when he needed you, too."

"It was the least I could do." Tonks giggled again as Padfoot leapt over to her and nudged at her hand with his wet nose. "All right, all right!" She threw the ball as hard as she could, and watched with a smile on her face as he ran after it, chasing it down a hill towards the Black Lake.

"He wouldn't jump in there, would he?" Andrea checked as they followed at a more leisurely pace, heading in the direction of the lake themselves.

"He probably would," Tonks said, shrugging. "But that's his problem. I wouldn't be going after him, and he knows it. Besides, he's been in there enough times already to be able to find his way out, I expect."

"Was he really crazy as a student?"

"You must remember!"

"Well, I do, but … I don't know, I don't suppose we ever got to hear as much about what the troublemakers in Gryffindor got up to as we would have liked. They sounded fun, but it wasn't like we knew them. And the Slytherins always badmouthed them."

"That's because most of their pranks were **on** the Slytherins," Tonks smirked. "But yeah, they were pretty much certifiably insane. Still are, come to that."

"You had to get it from somewhere," Andrea quipped. Tonks laughed aloud but didn't reply, kneeling down and pushing Sirius over onto his back as he materialised in front of them, ball in mouth and looking very pleased with himself. She tickled his stomach and scratched him behind the ears, cooing over him teasingly.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good doggy?!" He rolled back over and got to his feet, wagging his tail insistently as he dropped the ball at her feet. The girls could take a hint, and they spent the best part of half an hour taking turns to throw it for him. Occasionally he would run off after a butterfly or a mouse, but he always came back quickly, true to his promise to behave himself. After about forty minutes, though, he suddenly let out a joyful bark and tore off past Tonks and Andrea, towards the castle.

"Where's he going?" Andrea asked, surprised.

"No idea. Padfoot!!" Tonks called after him, starting to climb the slope after him. "Padfoot, come back here!!" The only answer she got was another bark, and she glowered slightly as she trudged uphill, Andrea a few paces behind. "Padfoot!!!"

"Afternoon, ladies." Tonks grinned in relief as the tall figure appeared from around the corner of the great building, the dog trailing faithfully after him, tongue hanging out.

"Hi, Professor," she greeted with a smile. "Hope he wasn't giving you any trouble."

"Not at all," the Headmaster assured with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I presume this is Professor Lupin's dog that I've heard so much about?"

"Yes, sir. His name's Padfoot."

"Padfoot," Dumbledore repeated with a smile. "Well, he certainly is well-trained. I trust you have all been having fun?"

"Oh, yes, sir," Tonks grinned. "We've been playing fetch, and Padfoot was chasing butterflies too. He's been dying for some exercise for a few days now, so we offered to take him off of Professor Lupin's hands for an hour."

"And I appreciate that," came a familiar voice, as Remus rounded the corner Dumbledore had just come from. "Afternoon, Albus."

"Remus," the Headmaster greeted with a wink. "I was just admiring your pet here. Quite a remarkable creature. Yes, remarkable … well, I must be getting on. Have a lovely afternoon, all of you. I shall see you at dinner, Remus."

"Good afternoon, sir," Andrea said as he left them. Remus grinned as Sirius jumped up and placed his paws on his shoulders, licking his face repeatedly.

"Get down, you mangy mutt," Remus laughed, and as Sirius dropped back onto all fours, he crouched down and petted him roughly, still grinning. "He looks like he's been having a wonderful time," he commented, glancing up at the girls. "Thank you."

"Our pleasure, sir," Andrea said, and Tonks nodded.

"He's a fun **dog**," she said meaningfully, and she could swear that Padfoot glowered at her again. "And good exercise for us. I'd forgotten how tiring he could be."

"How could you possibly forget?" Remus asked, a smirk playing on the corners of his lips, and Tonks flushed.

"Shut up," she muttered, trying to hide her own laughter.

"What happened?" Andrea asked curiously, and Tonks and Remus exchanged amused glances.

_**Flashback …**_

"_This is so __**cool**__!" fourteen-year-old Tonks exclaimed delightedly, chasing her doggy cousin around in circles, laughing hysterically when he got under her feet and they both ended up sprawled on the grass. Sirius transformed back into his human form, grinning, and flopped onto his back alongside Remus, Lily, James and Tonks in James' back garden. Peter was mysteriously missing that week, not that any of them were overly upset. He had been acting even stranger than usual lately. They had hardly seen him since summer had begun three weeks previously._

"_I'm glad you approve, Nymphy," Sirius smirked, and she smacked him in the chest, barely batting an eye._

"_My name is Tonks," she said automatically. "And of course I do! It's amazing. How did you manage it without someone finding out? Don't you need training?"_

"_It probably wouldn't have taken as long," James agreed, shrugging. "But it was more fun this way. Besides, teachers ask too many questions."_

"_And we never need to worry about that again," Sirius supplied with a grin. "Can you believe it? No more Hogwarts. It's kind of scary to think we'll all need to get jobs."_

"_At some point," Remus said darkly. "We may need to put our career plans on hold until this Voldemort issue is resolved. According to the _Prophet_, he's getting stronger."_

"_The _Prophet_ is fear-mongering," Lily said tartly. "He may be getting stronger, but I don't think he's as much of a threat as they say he is. Besides, you all seem to be forgetting Dumbledore. He wouldn't let a Dark Wizard take control."_

"_He may not have a choice," Remus said quietly, but Sirius hushed him._

"_Stop it, Moony," he said with a laugh. "You're depressing me."_

"_Come on, let's do something fun," James said, sitting up. "Anyone up for a game of chase?" He produced a Golden Snitch from his pocket, and the four others rolled their eyes amusedly._

"_How many of those do you have, Prongs?" Remus asked, quirking an eyebrow._

"'_Bout fifty," James shrugged. "Who wants to go first?"_

"_I will!" Sirius proclaimed with a grin, also sitting up. "Nymphy? Want to race?"_

"_You know I'm no good on a broom, Sirius," she complained, and he smirked._

"_How about on foot?" Tonks then sat up too, contemplating the offer. She was smaller and lighter on her feet than her cousin, and she could always Metamorphose herself into an athlete if he turned out to be faster than she expected. She shrugged._

"_You're on," she said, surprising the other. James and Sirius snickered, whereas Remus merely shook his head in amusement and bent his head over his newspaper once more. Lily frowned._

"_Do you really want to do that, Tonks?" she asked, but Tonks waved her off._

"_I'll be fine, Lil," she assured the other girl with a confident smile. Lily shrugged and leant back on her elbows as James and Sirius stood up, hauling Tonks to her feet. She and Sirius positioned themselves at one end of the field bordering the Potters' garden, and James stood in between them, holding the Snitch above his head._

"_Ready?" he asked, and the two others nodded. "Three … two … one … GO!" Tonks took off as fast as she could, running harder than she had in at least two years. She could feel the blood rushing past her ears, her breath catching in her chest, but she didn't care. She was determined to outrun Sirius. She chanced a glance to the side and was delighted to see that he was neither alongside nor ahead of her. Spurred on by her lead, she pressed on even harder, ignoring the tightness in her chest. Suddenly she caught sight of a black blur flying past her on the left hand side, and she was so distracted by it that she lost her footing and tumbled, catching her head on a rock …_

"_Dora? Dora!" She opened her eyes, blinking furiously, and found Remus leaning over her concernedly. He offered her his hand and pulled her into a sitting position, helping her to position herself against the garden fence. They must have carried her back there. Over his shoulder, Tonks saw Lily waving the Snitch in the air, gesturing wildly and screaming furiously at Sirius and James as she pointed at Tonks and then back at them. She frowned._

"_What's wrong with Lily?" she asked groggily, and Remus cleared his throat, half-smiling._

"_She's a little upset with James and Sirius," he admitted. "She blames them for your fall, you see. She's furious that they played such a dirty trick on you." Tonks strained her memory, trying to remember what had happened before she fell, but all that came to mind was the small blur that had distracted her._

"_I don't understand," she said. "Why would she think …" She froze as the exact nature of the 'blur' dawned on her. "SIRIUS!!!"_

_** … End Flashback**_

"He always was a prat," Tonks finished with a wry chuckle as they ascended the stairs towards Sirius' quarters. She and Remus had told the story between them during the walk back to the castle, and they were about to drop Sirius off to allow him to take a bath after getting himself filthy playing in the mud alongside the lake. Andrea giggled.

"That's actually pretty funny," she admitted.

"I didn't think so at the time," Tonks pointed out. "But I should have known better."

"Yes, you should," Sirius agreed, transforming back into a man as soon as they were inside his door. "Silly Nymphy."

"Bite me," Tonks shot back instantly, and he poked his tongue out at her.

"I'm off for a wash," he informed them all cheerily. "Thanks for the games, ladies. It was good to get some fresh air. I'll see you after dinner, Moony?"

"I'll have the house-elves send you some food," Remus agreed with a knowing smile. Sirius nodded his head in acknowledgement before heading for the bathroom. The three others descended the stairs together, stopping at the foot of them.

"Coming back to the common room, Tonks?" Andrea asked, and Tonks nodded.

"Yeah, definitely," she agreed. "Remus, if you – oh, bollocks!"

"Something wrong, Dora?" he asked, an amused smile gracing his features.

"Left my cloak in your room," she explained. "Drea, I'll meet you back in the common room, okay? I'd better go get it while it's on my mind."

"You'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on," was all Andrea said in response. "Thanks for everything, Professor. See you later, Tonks."

"Bye," Tonks called after her as she headed off in the opposite direction. She smiled up at Remus as they turned and made for his quarters together.

"I really do appreciate you taking Sirius out today, Dora," Remus said as he opened his door and stepped aside to let her through first. "He really needed it. And I know it would please him to spend some time in your company, even as a dog."

"I had fun too," Tonks agreed. "It was good to see him running around happy. Free."

"Indeed," he said quietly. They climbed the stairs in silence and he let them into his chambers, where Tonks quickly located her cloak, fastening it around her shoulders. Remus smiled at her as she straightened, and she returned it.

"Feel free to give me a shout next time he starts driving you mad," she offered, and he laughed.

"That's an offer you may regret," he warned her, and she shrugged.

"Not anytime soon."

"Well, thank you," he said, inclining his head towards her. "I'll remember that. And I shall see you tomorrow in class. There will be, ah, no need to bring your books." Tonks raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Are you going to elaborate?" she pressed him, and he chuckled.

"Unlikely," he retorted. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dora."

"See you, Remus." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, surprised to find herself flushing slightly as she stepped back. She grinned bashfully. "Bye." She left his chambers quickly, closing the door softly behind her and smiling curiously to herself. _Where had that come from?_ She shrugged it off and half-walked, half-skipped back to the common room to wash up before dinner.

**As I said, I'm going to keep trying to write this fic, and also my other HP fic, 'Timing.' Anyone who reads that, do be patient – I'm starting back on that right now, after posting this! Fingers crossed I'll be able to get back into it.**

**Thanks to all my loyal readers, and I'm hoping to get more to you soon.**

**Alison :) xx**


	8. VII: An Important Mission

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. A/N: This chapter, while a ilttle delayed, is still on track with my plan to get more of my HP work online, so hopefully I'll be able to updaten again soonish. Thanks to everyone who read the last one, and more is on the way as soon as I can get it typed up :) -----------------------------------

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Tonks said breathlessly as she slumped into a seat between Andrea and their friend Lorna at the Hufflepuff table at dinner. "Had to get my cloak, then go back to the common room to wash up, and I got an owl from my mother I had to reply to."

"Your loss," Andrea shrugged. "You missed the main course."

"There's always dessert."

"Hey, Tonks," Lorna said, seeming to have only just noticed her. "I heard you were in the Hospital Wing after that fight the other day. How are you doing?"

"Good, thanks," Tonks said truthfully, piling her plate with trifle as she spoke. "Madam Pomfrey fixed me up in five minutes. I feel better than new. Besides, it meant I got to skip classes for a couple of days, which is always fun. I didn't miss anything important, did I?"

"We've to write two rolls of parchment on Amortentia for Professor Slughorn," Lorna grumbled. "And we were working on human Transfiguration, but I'm sure you can catch up easily enough with that."

"I'll do my best," Tonks said dryly. "What about Defence?"

"We were talking about Animagi," Andrea informed her, a small smile on her face. "Professor Lupin wanted to know what we knew about them. He said we'll be doing practical work tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know – he told me not to bother bringing my book." The words were out of her mouth before Tonks had time to think, and she cringed internally at the look on Lorna's face.

"When did you have **this** conversation?" she asked, somewhat snidely.

"Tonks and I were dog sitting for Professor Lupin this afternoon," Andrea intervened swiftly, and Tonks shot her friend a grateful smile. "I had to rush off to return a book to the library, so she took Padfoot back alone."

"And he says thank you, by the way," Tonks added. "For keeping Padfoot entertained."

"I had a good time, actually. For all I expected him to be a menace, he was actually perfectly good. And he needed the exercise."

"Professor Lupin has a dog?" Lorna asked, shaking her head in amusement when the other two nodded. "That's bizarre. I'll have to ask him if I can take it for a walk sometime."

"Hmm." Tonks merely ducked her head over her trifle, making a vague sound as a response. She didn't think Remus was likely to let just any of his students take Sirius out. There was no telling what the other man might get up to, even in dog form. She and Andrea remained quiet for the rest of the meal, and managed somehow to evade Lorna for the rest of the evening, an occurrence for which Tonks was exceedingly grateful.

The following morning, they met Charlie and Eric after a hurried breakfast, and all wandered to Defence Against The Dark Arts together, chatting and laughing about doggy Sirius, and Andrea regaling the boys with the tale of Tonks' great race. She buried her head in her hands in mock mortification as they laid their bags at the side of the classroom. The desks had disappeared, and the only things in the room were large, plush red cushions scattered around the floor.

"What's he got planned?" Eric asked Tonks curiously, and she shrugged.

"I honestly do not have a clue," she admitted. He opened his mouth to reply as more students filed in, but before he had a chance to speak, everyone's attention was grabbed by a loud bark from the top of the stairs.

"No – bad Padfoot!" came Remus' voice from his quarters, but the great black dog ignored him, leaping down the stairs and bounding across to Tonks and her friends, tongue hanging out in what Tonks was sure was a cheeky face. She chuckled and crouched down to pet him, cuddling him close as the other students laughed and talked about him.

"Are you being a bad dog again?" she asked, unable to conceal her grin. Sirius gave a very definite nod and barked, seeming all-too happy with himself. Remus appeared at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing, and Tonks glanced up and caught his eye.

"Have you considered having him sterilised, Professor?" she asked in a would-be thoughtful tone, and Remus smirked as Sirius' ears drooped and he gazed dolefully up at his 'master.'

"Many times," Remus assured her, raising one eyebrow at the dog's expression. "But I fear he might try to kill the vet. He can be rather vicious when he doesn't get his own way."

"What's his name, sir?" asked a Ravenclaw named Titus.

"Padfoot," Remus replied, shaking his head helplessly as the dog began to chase his own tail. "Padfoot!" he repeated more sharply, and Sirius looked back up at him. "Heel." Tonks could have sworn Sirius rolled his eyes before padding up the stairs again and sitting down obediently at the Professor's side, licking his hand and snuffling contentedly. Remus patted his head, chuckling slightly, before pointing behind him. "In." Padfoot dropped his wagging tail and slunk through the door into Remus' chambers to roars of appreciative laughter, and the man himself raised his eyes heavenward as he closed it after him. He then descended the stairs and stood at the front of the class, waiting for them to settle.

"How old is he, Professor?" Lorna asked curiously as she stowed her bag against the wall.

"Twenty-one," Remus responded with a smirk in Tonks' direction.

"So he's … three, then," Lorna said, doing the calculations between 'dog years' and 'human years.' Remus didn't reply, saving himself from having to lie outright to his students. He cleared his throat, and everyone focussed their attention on him.

"All right, today we are going to have a lesson devoted entirely to practical work," he said, and a few people cheered. He smiled. "Yes, yes, I know textbooks are no fun. This morning, I would like to work on Stunning with you." There were a few disappointed murmurs around the room, and Charlie raised his hand. "Mr Weasley?"

"Sir, we already know how to Stun."

"I should hope so, Mr Weasley," Remus said, sounding amused. "But I hadn't finished. Today's lesson is going to teach you how to Stun – wordlessly."

"Wordlessly?" Andrea repeated in a mutter.

"After conferring with Professor Dumbledore, we have agreed that the mastering of silent spells will be an extremely useful skill for you after leaving Hogwarts. He had considered having them included into the sixth-year curriculum, but as you are aware, education took a little of a backseat during the War. Now, however, the Headmaster is keen to find out whether they will prove too challenging, or whether they should indeed be incorporated into the Defence Against The Dark Arts NEWT programme. Let's see if we can't convince him, shall we? Wands out!"

"He's keen, isn't he?" Charlie whispered to the others as they drew their wands.

"Good for him," Tonks defended loyally. "He's a good Professor, especially for having no experience. I'm glad he's enjoying it."

"All right, pair off, and show me your best regular Stunning spells first," Remus instructed. He walked among the pairs, correcting stances and wand movements as they practised. "Ms Perkins, try holding your other arm out slightly from your body as you work."

"Why, sir?" Andrea asked, seeming somewhat put-out by the suggestion that her wandwork might need improving. Remus moved her left hand away from her body and positioned it for her.

"Balance," he explained cheerfully. "Your arm movement has to be swift and smooth when performing any defensive spell, and Stunning is no exception. The sudden movement can throw you off-balance, and in a duel – or any other circumstance, come to that – stability is usually a necessity, and at the very least a great asset. Try it." Andrea frowned slightly as she attempted to cast a few simple spells in the manner he had suggested, and her eyebrows rose into her hairline.

"Wow, it really makes a difference," she exclaimed, sounding surprised. "Thanks, Professor!"

"It's my job, Ms Perkins," Remus reminded her with a tiny wink. "All right, now, everyone stop what you're doing for a moment and look here, please!" Tonks smiled to herself, impressed at how easily he could command a room. He talked them through the theory of silent incantations twice, until he was sure they all understood, and then asked for a volunteer.

"What for?" a Slytherin Tonks thought was called Solomon asked dubiously.

"A demonstration, of course," Remus said as casually as though he were remarking on the weather. "The cushions aren't there for decoration, you know. Who's feeling brave?" There was silence for a few moments, and then Charlie sighed aloud.

"I'll do it," he offered, stepping forward, and Remus grinned, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Good lad," he praised. "Stand just here, if you would, Mr Weasley … all right, are you ready?" Charlie nodded, standing tall and stiff, and Remus smirked slightly as he faced him. He flicked his wand at the redhead, his lips not moving even the tiniest bit, and Charlie slumped onto a pile of cushions, unconscious. There was a murmur of astonishment around the room as Remus stepped forward and pointed his wand at Charlie again. A small flash of light, and no incantation, later, Charlie was sitting up, shaking himself slightly.

"Cushions are soft," he said with a half-grin, and a ripple of laughter went around the class. Remus chuckled good-naturedly and offered his hand, hauling Charlie to his feet.

"Noted, Mr Weasley," he replied. "Thank you for your assistance. Ten points to Gryffindor." Charlie and Eric exchanged high-fives, and Tonks and Andrea glowered playfully at their friends. "You see? I could have performed any spell, any at all, upon Mr Weasley, and he never would have known what was coming. A great strategic advantage in any duel. The flip side is, of course, that your opponent may also be skilled in this field, in which case you have to be prepared to cast a strong Shield Charm at less than a second's notice."

"No pressure, though," Lorna said dryly, and Remus raised his eyebrows mildly.

"None at all," he assured her. "I sincerely hope, for your own sakes, that you are all capable of producing a sturdy Shield Charm, however. After all, NEWT exams are not designed to be a walk in the park, and neither is the real world."

"Professor?" Tonks called, raising her hand.

"Yes, Ms Tonks?"

"Will we learn how to recognise spells this year? I mean, I know that a Stunner is a flash of red light, and … and the Killing Curse is green, but there are hundreds of jinxes out there. If we don't know what's coming at us, how do we know how to counteract it?"

"The simple answer, Ms Tonks? You don't," Remus said with a small smile. "The aim of defensive magic is to allow you to protect yourself from being hit by jinxes, hexes, or curses. And you're right – there are far too many to count. Many of them will appear similar, and even more will have no distinguishing feature except the result. My job is to teach you prevention, not cures. However, if the rest of the class are interested, I would be happy to plan a lesson in which we can work on recognising the most common spells you may be hit with in a duel, and their counter-curses. Alternatively, I can recommend several books on the subject, if anyone wishes to do some extra reading." He glanced at his watch. "Everyone, practise silent Stunning for next lesson. We can talk more about the possibilities I've just discussed then. Class dismissed!"

"That would be cool, wouldn't it?" Eric commented as they crossed to the side of the room to collect their bags.

"Definitely useful," Charlie agreed. They heard joyous barking, and a moment later Tonks was bowled over by Padfoot, who Remus had inadvertently loosed by opening the door to his chambers.

"**Bad** dog!" Remus shouted half-heartedly.

"Ugh!" Tonks complained. "Padfoot! You're slobbering all over me! Get off!!" She pushed him off of her chest and climbed to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Sorry, Nymphy," Sirius said, not sounding it in the slightest as he transformed back into human form. The classroom had emptied of other students, and he flopped backwards onto one of the piles of cushions. "Ooft! Can I take some of these for my room, Moony?"

"Was that really a question?" Remus asked as he levitated the desks back downstairs from where he had stored them. Sirius grinned.

"Nope," he said, sounding pleased. "Cheers. I'll get right on that." He transformed back into a dog and picked up one of the pillows in his bag, giving the students a doggy grin before exiting the classroom and bounding off up the corridor to deliver it to his own quarters. Tonks giggled after him, and Remus chortled slightly as well.

"He's ridiculous," Tonks observed.

"He is rather, isn't he?" Remus said fondly. "And yet I can't bring myself to mind, not at the moment. I'm just glad he's free and happy. As much as we'll always mourn James and Lily, at least we've still got each other."

"Have graves been erected yet?" she asked softly, and he stiffened slightly.

"Yes," he said, clearing his throat. "In the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. There's talk of a statue being raised in their honour, but we'll see how that pans out. I was planning to go and lay flowers for them this weekend. If you wanted to come along, you'd be welcome." Tonks swallowed slightly, feeling a pang as she remembered James' cheeky grin and Lily's warm smile. She owed them this.

"I'd like that," she said with a small smile. "Let me know when, okay?"

"I will do," he promised as the door opened and Sirius padded back in, picking up another cushion and disappearing with it dangling from his teeth. He shook his head. "Ridiculous," he repeated firmly.

"Well, we'd better get to Transfiguration," Tonks said, suddenly remembering the time and grabbing her bag. "See you later, Remus."

"Goodbye," he said, inclining his head slightly as she and her friends hurried out of the room. They saw Sirius ahead of them in the corridor, and she giggled at the sight of him.

"For all that he's insane," she said, "he does have a knack for making things seem better than they are."

"Well things are going to get better from here on in, don't you think?" Andrea asked her, and she shrugged, increasing her pace just a little.

"Maybe," she said noncommittally.

"What does that mean?" Eric asked with a frown as her friends caught up with her.

"Most things will," she rephrased. "Some things are going to be just as unfair as they've always been." She refused to elaborate any further, but her thoughts drifted towards Remus. The full moon was only a week away, and she knew it would be a particularly hard one for him with all the emotional pain he was still in from losing James and Lily. She only hoped Sirius would be able to help him through it, since she couldn't. She didn't voice any of these thoughts, however, settling instead for changing the subject to Charlie's upcoming Quidditch match against Ravenclaw for the remainder of the walk to Transfiguration.

The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur for Tonks, and before she knew it, it was time for dinner. She and Andrea sat together, as far from Lorna as they feasibly could, as they didn't want her questioning them more about Padfoot. Out of habit, Tonks scanned the staff table, looking for Remus, but he was nowhere to be found. She frowned to herself as she looked more carefully at each individual face, but before she was finished, a dark shape appeared in front of her.

"Ms Tonks."

"Sir," she replied, surprised, as she looked up into the Headmaster's piercing gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

"There may be a … situation," he said carefully. "I'd like to ask you to accompany me for a short while, if I may?"

"Of – of course, sir," she said, stunned. She got to her feet, and promptly tripped over the hem of her robes. She righted herself quickly, fighting a blush as Dumbledore looked down at her with twinkling eyes. "Sorry, sir. I'll see you later, Andrea."

"Sure …" Tonks could feel her best friend's eyes – and those of most of the other students – on her, as Dumbledore led her from the Great Hall at a brisk pace. She jogged to catch up and fell into step beside him.

"Sir, nobody has … I mean, my family – are they –?"

"Nobody has been hurt," he assured her gently, and she let out a breath in relief. "We merely require some assistance in a somewhat … delicate, matter, and we think you may be the right young witch for the job, provided you are willing."

"Anything I can do to help, sir," she responded automatically, crinkling up her nose in confusion. "What delicate –?"

"Everything will be explained to you upstairs," Dumbledore interrupted her quietly, stopping in front of the most hideous gargoyle in the castle. "_Pear drops_," he said firmly, and Tonks jumped a little as the gargoyle sprang aside, revealing a moving spiral staircase. The Headmaster gestured for her to precede him, and she stepped onto it, marvelling as it lifted her straight to a door. Dumbledore reached past her and opened the door, giving her a gentle push forwards.

"Sirius?" Tonks queried bemusedly, stepping into what she presumed was Dumbledore's office. It was a beautiful room. "Professor Lupin? What's going on?"

"Have a seat, Ms Tonks," Dumbledore said gravely, sweeping past her and seating himself behind the large oak desk. Remus sat in one of the chairs before it, and Sirius was pacing backwards and forwards across the floor in front of it, looking flustered.

"Are you okay, Sirius?" Tonks asked worriedly as she perched on the edge of the second chair. He nodded mutely and continued to pace.

"We were hoping you were free this evening, Dora," Remus said, never lifting his gaze from his friend. She raised her eyebrows.

"Of course I am," she said, "but why?"

"We would like you to assist with a … well, I shall call it a retrieval mission," Dumbledore said slowly. "Professor Lupin would be going with you, and it shouldn't take up more than an hour or two of your time."

"Retrieving what, sir?" she asked, but it was Remus who answered.

"Harry Potter." Tonks gaped at him, before shifting her gaze onto Sirius, whose pacing had become more hurried and erratic.

"Harry?" she repeated, dumbfounded. "I don't understand."

"He's been staying with his Muggle aunt and uncle," Remus explained. "Lily's sister Petunia and her husband. I don't think you ever met them."

"No …"

"Well, he was placed with them after … after Halloween, as his only living relatives. But now that Sirius is about to be cleared …"

"You're his godfather," Tonks remembered suddenly, her eyes widening as Sirius caught her gaze. He sighed audibly and waved his wand, slumping heavily into the chair he had just conjured for himself.

"Prongs clearly wasn't thinking straight," he muttered. "I love Harry more than anything, but I'm not father material – I can barely look after myself!"

"In all the years I knew James Potter, I never knew him to make a bad decision when it came to protecting those he loved," Dumbledore offered quietly. "And you would have help, Sirius. Remus here dotes upon Harry as much as you do, but for obvious reasons could not be his full-time guardian. Tonks, to the best of my knowledge, cares for the boy. And you know Minerva and I would assist you in any way we could."

"I know that, sir," Sirius agreed, still looking unconvinced. "But, my God … being godfather was a huge honour, and it was great, when it meant I got to teach him practical jokes and all the other kids' stuff that Lil wouldn't let James teach him, but … how can they have expected I'd be able to look after him for the rest of his life?"

"They trusted you, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "As do I. You're afraid at the moment, but you're wonderful with Harry. He adores you. And although it will take some getting used to, I … I have the utmost faith that you will learn to be an admirable guardian." Sirius blinked at his friend for a moment, his eyes still troubled.

"Thanks, Moony," he said finally. "And I **am** going to do it – at least, I'm going to try my damndest – but it's just … I don't know. I don't want to let Prongs down … not again."

"You didn't let him down, Sirius," Dumbledore said sharply. "You did all you could, and nobody can ask more of you than that. By your last statement, it is clear that you could not let James and Lily down if you tried. You're terrified, but you have never once considered shirking this responsibility."

"He's my godson," Sirius said, looking at the Headmaster as though he was stupid, and his tone suggested that that fact settled everything. Dumbledore smiled.

"Precisely," was all he said. Sirius sort of jerked his head, and then cleared his throat.

"When can you go?" he asked, turning to Remus and Tonks. She shifted slightly and looked around the room, still not sure why she was here.

"Look, I'd love to help if I can," she began hesitantly, "but … well, I don't know how I can, to be honest. I mean, Remus – Professor Lupin, I mean – is more than capable of getting Harry on his own, isn't he? And Muggles don't really take to me, because I tend to change my hair when I get nervous, and I babble, and … what good am I, really?"

"I suggested you accompany me, Dora," Remus informed her, his mouth twitching in what Tonks thought looked suspiciously like a smirk. "And for all that she is a bitter woman, Petunia Dursley is also a mother. While she will never see Harry as a son, and she will never truly love him, due to her resentment of her sister, she will still feel some small sense of protectiveness towards him. And, as chauvinistic as it sounds, she is far more likely to turn him over to a young woman with a smiling, honest face, than to me. And as Sirius is still technically a felon, in the Muggle world as well as in ours, I don't think we can justify sending him, somehow."

"But I – I mean, what if she refuses?" Tonks asked nervously, morphing her hair from its current fuchsia to a more responsible auburn.

"Oh, she's not getting a choice," Sirius said vehemently. "Moony will get Harry out of there, don't worry about that. If things go bad, he knows what needs to be done – what any true Marauder would do under the circumstances."

"**But**," Dumbledore intervened, "I would rather it did not come to that. If we can complete the transfer of baby Harry amicably, so much the better for him. His relatives may not be stellar examples of humankind, but they are, nonetheless, the only living family he has, at least through blood. It is not up to us to sever ties for him before he has a choice."

"I understand," Tonks said, nodding slowly. "All right, I'll go. When do we leave?"

"Now?" Remus offered, getting to his feet and swinging his cloak over his shoulders. "If we don't return within, say … three hours? then you may wish to check up on us. All being well, we shall see you shortly, Albus. Sirius …"

"Bring him back, Moony," Sirius said, his voice cracking as he looked into his friend's eyes. Remus nodded with a tight smile, clapping the other man on the shoulder.

"I will," he promised. "You have my word, Padfoot. After you, Dora."

"Bye," Tonks called after her as she left the office, Remus close behind her. He closed the door after them, and they descended the spiral staircase in silence. Once they passed the gargoyle, however, he turned to her, scrutinising her carefully.

"We can spare five minutes," he said thoughtfully. "Why don't you go and change? I have a sneaking suspicion that the Dursleys may not have the confidence in you we are hoping to inspire if you appear wearing a schoolgirl's uniform. Meet me in the Entrance Hall in ten minutes – and Dora?" She raised her eyes to meet his as he turned back to her, having already been heading in the opposite direction. "I … that is to say, we – all of us … well, we really do appreciate you doing this." She nodded dumbly, and he returned it before sweeping off towards the Great Hall, presumably to excuse himself from dinner.

Tonks half-walked, half-jogged to the Hufflepuff girls' dormitories, tipping the entire contents of her trunk onto her bed in a blind panic. She didn't think she owned **any** suitable clothes for convincing Harry's aunt and uncle that she was responsible. Weird Sisters T-Shirt – no. Yellow flares – no. Orange and red tie-dye dress robes – definitely no. She groaned and turned to Andrea's trunk instead, sifting through the top layer of clothing. She was able to retrieve a sensible dark green V-neck sweater, and she pulled it on over her white school blouse. She then found a pair of relatively plain blue jeans from her own pile of clothing, transfigured them black – with some difficulty – and turned to the mirror. Scrunching up her face in concentration, she morphed her features: her eyes became emerald green, her nose slightly smaller, her face a little longer, and her hair suddenly flowed down over her shoulders in a shade of deep, chestnut brown. Turning every which way, she decided from her reflection that it was the best she could do, and pulled a black coat of Andrea's over her shoulders, accompanied by her black school shoes, and then tore from the room, taking every staircase she encountered three steps at a time, until she skidded to a halt at the foot of the sweeping flight in the Entrance Hall. Remus was standing with his back to her, and she took a deep breath before stalking over and tapping him on the shoulder.

"Professor?" she said sweetly. He turned to face her, and his jaw literally dropped. His eyes were wide – and was that a flicker of sadness she caught in them? – as he looked her up and down, before his gaze came to rest on her face again.

"Dora," he said, somewhat hoarsely, "you look … you'll put Petunia Dursley to shame."

"Thanks," she said, flushing at the praise, although she couldn't explain why. She hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth to ask him why he had looked saddened, but before she had a chance, she heard her name.

"Tonks?!" She grimaced and turned to face Andrea, Eric and Charlie, who were all gaping at her in astonishment. She glanced at Remus, who indicated that she could go and talk to them briefly. She hurried over, ducking her head to avoid the stares being directed at her from many of the other seventh-years exiting the Great Hall.

"You look different," Eric commented, grinning a little too widely. "What's this all about?"

"I … I can't really say," she said, keeping her voice low, and she winced as she saw Andrea's nostrils flare as the other girl took in her new appearance.

"Are those my clothes?!" she all-but hissed, and Tonks felt herself flushing again.

"Well, yeah … Look, Drea, I really don't have time to explain now, but I **swear** I will later tonight – we'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?"

"You – you borrowed my clothes, and made yourself gorgeous, so you could go out alone with Professor Lupin?" Andrea sputtered. "Tonks! People are going to start talking, and frankly, I'm not so sure I'd blame them if they did! Being friendly is one thing, but you are definitely overly friendly – what's this, another cosy dinner for two?!"

"It is not!" Tonks exclaimed indignantly. "Professor Dumbledore asked us to go out and do a, an errand, for him, and I had to look really smart for it, and I didn't think you would mind or I wouldn't have borrowed your stuff! Now I'm really, **really** sorry, but we're already running late …"

"If this is so 'innocent'," Andrea whispered coldly, "then why was he staring at you the way he was when you came over here?!"

"He – he wasn't," Tonks said, caught off-guard. Remus, staring at her? _Unlikely_.

"Oh, please!"

"Drea, if they're doing something for Dumbledore, maybe this could wait 'til later, yeah?" Charlie suggested calmly, and Tonks shot him a grateful smile. It faltered slightly, however, when he didn't return it, merely glancing at her hair and shaking his head slightly.

"Whatever," Andrea muttered, turning and stalking away. Tonks turned to Eric, and saw the same uncertainty in his eyes as she had found in Charlie's.

"Eric, Chaz, I … it's really not what it looks like," she said miserably, and they both half-shrugged.

"I want to believe you, Tonks," Eric said slowly. "Maybe it's not. But it does look really, really bad from here. Even if it's not … just be careful."

"He's right," Charlie added. "We trust you, Tonks. But not everyone's going to, and you're risking a lot over something that you claim is nothing. Think about it. We'll be in the library all night – come find us when you get back."

"All right," Tonks sighed, her voice barely above a whisper, as they too turned and left. She bit her lip as she wandered back over to Remus' side, where she was met with a pair of concerned eyes and a slight frown.

"Is everything all right, Dora?" he asked. She nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said flatly. "Can we just go?" He looked a little taken aback at her tone, but composed himself quickly and nodded.

"Of course," he said, opening the door for her. "After you." She preceded him out of the castle, and they walked at a brisk pace through the cold night air towards the castle gates. She could feel him shooting glances in her direction, but she kept her head bowed against the wind the whole way to the gates. As soon as they stepped out of the grounds, the gates swung shut with an ominous clang, and Remus took her arm, turning her to face him.

"What is it, Remus?" she asked tiredly, and he frowned more deeply than before.

"You don't have to tell me what's going on," he said quietly, "but if you want to, or you ever need someone to listen … well, you know where I am."

"I do," she agreed, her voice softening as guilt washed over her. There really was nothing to be ashamed of in their friendship, and she shouldn't punish him for her other friends' lack of faith in her. She placed her hand over his on her arm and gave a reassuring squeeze. "I know, Remus," she assured him. "Thank you. But right now I just need to focus on getting Harry back safely, okay?"

"All right," he agreed with a small smile. He removed his hand from her arm and held his own arm out to her. "I'll give you a Side-Along," he explained as she looked at him blankly. "I'm assuming you haven't passed your Apparition test yet?"

"No," she shook her head, taking his arm. "Thanks."

"Any time." Tonks closed her eyes and held on tight as Remus turned on the spot, and in a rush of wind, they were gone.


	9. VIII: Retrieval

**Disclaimer:** Sigh. _Non sono i miei_. That's Italian for they are not mine ;)  
**A/N:** Okay so the update is delayed again. So sue me. If you're a fan of the story and have kept up with it, then thanks loads - I really appreciate your patience. I know I'm horrible at quick updates but I've got a lot of stories to work on, and a lot of real-life commitments that I obviously have to put first, so I'm sorry, but updates will keep coming as and when I'm able - I promise not to leave anything unfinished. It just may take some time to get there. Anyway this chapter's relatively long to make up for it, and I hope those of you who have stuck around will enoy it :)

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When Tonks opened her eyes again, she gasped aloud, and instantly found a strong hand clapped over her mouth.

"Quiet," Remus whispered barely audibly. "We've Apparated into a Muggle area. We can't move until we're sure the street is clear." Tonks nodded mutely, and he released her mouth. She glanced out of the end of the dingy alleyway they were currently cloistered in, and pressed herself back against the wall quickly when she saw two teenagers approaching. They stayed there, breathing shallowly, for a few minutes, until the boys were well and truly out of sight.

"Is it clear?" Tonks hissed, and Remus nodded.

"I think so," he said, clearing his throat to regain his voice. "Come along. Harry's family live on a street called Privet Drive – it should be two streets over. I didn't want to attract too much attention. We don't know how familiar Lily's sister is with magic."

"All right," she replied, stepping out of the alley and taking a deep breath. "Which way?"

"Left," Remus supplied, and they headed in that direction side by side. They walked in companionable silence for a few moments, before something came back to Tonks, and she glanced sideways at him.

"Remus?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask," he said, a hint of amusement colouring his tone. She smiled.

"Well, it was just … back at the castle, when I met you in the Entrance Hall, you seemed … I don't know. It almost looked as though you were sad, when you saw me. Did I do something wrong?" she asked softly. He inhaled sharply, turning and meeting her eye. He seemed to contemplate his answer for a few moments before opening his mouth.

"No," he answered her eventually. "You did nothing wrong, Dora. I was simply a little taken aback, that's all."

"I really look all that different?" she joked, but he didn't smile.

"It wasn't that," he admitted. "It was … well, two or three inches taller, and make your hair red, and you could pass for Lily Evans' twin." Tonks froze where she was, her heart pounding and her eyes wide. That explained why Andrea had caught him watching her. Remus seemed to sense that she was no longer alongside him, and turned to face her, a sad smile on his face. "It was a coincidence, that's all, Dora," he said gently. "It merely caught me off-guard, and I apologise."

"No, it's … don't worry about it," Tonks said, her throat closing up. "I didn't even realise … I should have, but I was just so rushed, and I wanted to look good … I guess Lily was always someone I wished I looked more like. I really didn't know I was doing it."

"I know," he assured her. "And for what it's worth, she would have been flattered. And she was a beautiful girl." Tonks nodded silently and began to walk again, and Remus followed suit, stepping up to her side as they made their way to the street called Privet Drive. Tonks grabbed his arm suddenly as they were about to round the corner, and he looked down at her bemusedly.

"Wait," she begged of him. "I don't want to go in there looking too much like Lily. Her sister might think it's some kind of a cruel joke." Remus half-smiled, looking at the ground.

"Petunia Evans had very little time for Lily," he told her. "I'm not entirely sure she would notice. However, if you wish to change, now is the time."

"What do you think – bobbed hair, brown eyes, narrower nose?" she asked nervously, making the necessary changes. He smiled indulgently down at her and nodded.

"Better," he agreed. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He slid an arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze, before releasing her and leading her to the house with the number four on the door. He took a deep breath and then raised his hand, knocking three times sharply on the door. There was silence for a moment, and then the sound of footsteps came to them through the door. Tonks took a breath, expecting to see an older Lily Potter on the other side, but the sight that greeted her was quite different.

"Yes?" Petunia Dursley asked suspiciously, holding the door only semi-open. Her hair was dark and her eyes wide and dark, completely unlike her sister's. Tonks thought she somewhat resembled a horse, but wisely kept that notion to herself. "What do you want?"

"Mrs Dursley," Remus said in an extraordinarily pleasant tone. "You may remember me – my name is Remus Lupin, and this is Dora Tonks. We were hoping to have a word with you and your husband."

"I'm sorry, we're not interested in buying anything," Petunia began, making to close the door, but Remus reached out and held it firmly in place, still smiling benignly.

"Which is fortunate, as we're not selling," he said calmly. "And I'm afraid this really is rather urgent. We're here in regards to your nephew, Harry." Mrs Dursley's face paled.

"You – you're one of _those_," she hissed distastefully. "Well, I don't want to know! My sister may have fallen for your tricks, but we want nothing to do with any of it – we don't associate with **freaks**!"

"Hey!" Tonks began indignantly, but Remus cut her off with a warning glance.

"Mrs Dursley," he said, his voice sharpening slightly, "we are here on behalf of Albus Dumbledore, with whom I understand you have already corresponded."

"I – well, that is to say – one letter is hardly a correspondence!" Petunia protested.

"Nevertheless, you are aware of Albus Dumbledore; of who he is, and what he represents," Remus continued. "We really won't keep you any longer than is absolutely necessary. And if you don't let us in, I can assure you, someone will be back. This matter needs to be dealt with, Mrs Dursley, and the sooner the better. Now, shall we take this inside out of the cold and away from prying eyes and ears?" Tonks smirked, highly impressed with his handling of the situation, as Petunia's mouth opened and closed a few times before she cleared her throat.

"Take your shoes off in the hallway," she instructed firmly as she stepped aside to let them in, closing the door after them. "Coats too. And keep your voices down – Dudley's asleep."

"Your son?" Remus confirmed, and she nodded shortly.

"I'll fetch Vernon," she said, her voice quivering slightly. She whisked away through to the living room, and Tonks stifled a snort as she sat down on the stairs and removed her shoes, before standing up and sliding her – or rather, Andrea's – coat over her shoulders, hanging it over the edge of the banister. Remus followed her example with his cloak, setting his shoes alongside hers, and shot her a wry smile.

"Well, that's the easy part over," he commented, and she rolled her eyes.

"Get in there," she ordered him, and he shook his head in amusement as he led her into the living room, where Vernon Dursley had joined his wife and was awaiting them with a curious mixture of anger, fear and uncertainty on his features. Tonks' first impression was that he was a greedy little man, far too used to getting his own way, and that he and Petunia were perfectly suited. It was small wonder Lily had never introduced them to Tonks before, although she knew Remus had met them. She wondered if they remembered.

"Mr Dursley," Remus acknowledged the other man, offering his hand. Dursley merely looked at it, narrowing his eyes at the pair of them. Remus, however, seemed perfectly unruffled by this, and withdrew his hand with nothing more than a small smile in Tonks' direction. "I wonder if we ought to sit for this?" Without waiting for a response, he gestured for Tonks to take a seat on the sofa, and proceeded to sit himself alongside her. The Dursleys exchanged looks that Tonks couldn't quite read, before sitting down on the other sofa.

"You're here about the boy, then?" Vernon asked gruffly, and Remus smiled mildly.

"Indeed."

"Damn inconsiderate of your lot to dump him on us," the other man huffed. Tonks felt her cheeks flaming with annoyance and reached for her wand, but Remus' hand found hers and stilled it in the action. He shook his head almost imperceptibly as Vernon Dursley continued to rant. "Babies are expensive, and all he ever does is wail – you're damn lucky he's asleep at the moment, you know; first time in days. Upsets Dudley something rotten, too – he's used to getting all his parents' attention, and all of a sudden he's faced with this usurper –"

"If by 'usurper,' you mean to say 'innocent child whose parents died trying to protect him, who is responsible for having saved the entire wizarding world,' then I understand you perfectly, Mr Dursley," Remus interrupted coolly, and the other man flushed.

"Now wait just a minute –" he began, but Remus spoke over him firmly.

"Harry is only a year old, Mr Dursley. His parents have vanished from his life, he has been through the traumatic experience of an attempt on his life, whilst watching his parents die in front of him, and he is now living with complete strangers, who do not even attempt to comfort him. I'm hardly surprised if he cries a lot."

"See here, you! You have no right to come into our home and insult us! We didn't have to take him in, did we? We could've sent him to an orphanage!"

"And he would most likely have been the better for it," Remus returned flatly. "As I have already explained to your wife, we are here on behalf of Albus Dumbledore, the man who placed Harry in your care. He asked you to look after him; protect him; care for him, as you do your own son. You have not done so."

"Remus," Tonks said quietly, noticing how red Vernon Dursley had turned. She now realised what her role was. "Don't be so hard on them. I'm sure they've done the best they can." She smiled sweetly at Petunia as she said this, and the woman looked taken aback at this show of support. She nodded briskly.

"Quite right," she agreed. "We've tried our hardest. It's not our fault if he's a difficult baby."

"Some babies can be that way," Tonks agreed, sneaking a glance at Remus, to find he was trying to conceal his own smile. She seemed to be on the right track. "I can only imagine how hard it is to take on a difficult child when you already have a baby of your own to take care of," she added sympathetically. "You're very brave."

"Oh, well, we do what we can," Vernon agreed, puffing his chest out slightly. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Dora Tonks," she replied with a kind smile. "My mother had an odd sense of humour, so I don't use my full first name. You don't even want to **know** what Dora's short for." She tipped Petunia a false wink, and a brief smile flitted across the woman's face.

"So, you're here to talk about the boy?" she prompted, and Remus sat up a little straighter. Tonks nodded, careful to appear nonchalant.

"Yes," she replied. "We'd like to see him in a little while, if that's all right. I really love babies. But Remus has the details of why we're here, so if he could explain that to you, that would be great. Remus?"

"Thank you, Dora," he said with a smile in her direction. "As you know, Professor Dumbledore placed Harry in your care because you were his only surviving blood relatives, and there was nobody else to look after him. That has now changed. We have managed to make contact with Harry's godfather, and therefore legal guardian in the event of anything happening to James and Lily."

"Godfather?" Vernon Dursley repeated. "Well why didn't you send him to him to begin with?!"

"There have been some complications in tracking him down, due to the nature of his job," Remus lied smoothly. "But he loves Harry as his own son, and would like to take full custody of him, effective as soon as can be arranged. We are here to discuss the terms of the custody arrangement with you."

"What arrangement?" Petunia asked sharply. "If he's the boy's godfather, he can have him."

"Exactly," added Vernon. "I don't see that there's anything to discuss. He can come and collect the boy anytime, as long as he calls first. But he can buy his own crib."

"I'm sure that won't be an issue," Remus assured him with a smile. "But he won't actually be coming to collect Harry. If you and Mrs Dursley are agreeable, then we would like to take Harry away with us tonight and deliver him to his godfather."

"What are you, some kind of Child Services reps?" Vernon asked, his beady eyes narrowed.

"Something like that," Remus agreed. "As to the custody arrangements, I was referring to your visitation rights. As Harry's only surviving blood relative, Mrs Dursley, you will of course be entitled to visit him. His godfather asks only that he have some advance notice of your coming, and he will be happy to accommodate you."

"We don't need to visit," Vernon said instantly, but Petunia looked torn.

"Does your wife agree?"

"I – I mean, where will he be living? Just on the off-chance we wanted to go?" Petunia queried, avoiding her husband's eye.

"The address is a wizarding property," Remus said gently, "and well-protected. There is a charm upon it that prevents me from divulging the location at the moment, but I will leave you an address at which to contact me directly, and should you choose to visit Harry, I will have his godfather come and see you personally to discuss the details."

"Petunia …" Vernon said, gaping at her, but she ignored him.

"And he … he'll be quite safe?" she asked, swallowing slightly. "We took on the responsibility, so if someone else is only doing it on a whim, we can still bear it."

"He will be perfectly safe," Remus promised. "And surrounded by people who love him dearly. Your sister was a wonderful woman, Mrs Dursley, and her husband a great man. They had a lot of friends, friends who came to know and love Harry. He'll be taken care of."

"Well." Petunia seemed unsure of what to say, so she stood up, rather jerkily, Tonks thought, and glanced at the ceiling. "I suppose you'll be wanting to take him now?"

"That would be wonderful."

"Vernon, why don't you show Mr Lupin where Harry is? If he can lift him without waking him, then more power to him." Vernon Dursley didn't seem used to being told what to do, and he merely nodded and beckoned Remus to follow with one pudgy finger. Remus got to his feet and followed, nodding briefly at the two women. Tonks shifted uncomfortably as Petunia Dursley fixed her gaze upon her.

"You have a lovely home here, Mrs Dursley," she said politely, and the woman nodded slightly, glancing around at her own living room.

"You knew my sister?" Tonks met Petunia's eye, surprised, and caught a glimmer of something like regret in them. She swallowed thickly and nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

"Yes," she said softly. "She was older than me, but … we were friends. She was always kind and willing to help anyone who needed it, including me when I first met her. And she was one of the most talented people I've ever met. I admired her very much." Petunia's eye twitched slightly at the word 'talented,' and she bowed her head.

"We didn't speak," she said, as though she felt a need to explain herself. "She had her world and I had mine. She had that Potter boy, and I had Vernon. We … we hadn't seen eye-to-eye for a long time."

"I know a thing or two about family feuds, Mrs Dursley," Tonks assured her. "I can understand that. It doesn't mean you're not allowed to miss her."

"I didn't know her. Not really, anyway. What was there for me to miss?" But the woman's voice shook as she said this, and Tonks knew she was struggling with grief and guilt. She wished she knew what to say to ease her mind, but she could think of nothing appropriate.

"It might do you good to visit Harry sometimes," she offered weakly.

"Vernon – he doesn't like the boy," Petunia said sharply, shutting down her emotions once more. "And we have our own son to think about. All this … this **magic**, it's not healthy for a young boy like Dudley. We don't want him getting mixed up with something he doesn't understand and will never be a part of. And like I said, Lily and I led separate lives. The boy was her son, not a part of me."

"But he's the only part of her you have left," Tonks said, stunned by the sudden change in the woman before her. Petunia jerked her head slightly but didn't reply, and their silence was interrupted by the door opening.

"You've got everything you need, then," Vernon said brusquely, marching into the living room and sitting down again. Remus entered behind him, stopping just inside the doorway, and nodded. Tonks smiled to herself at the sight of him holding baby Harry in his arms, beaming down at him as though he were the centre of the universe. The boy was apparently awake, as a little fist worked its way out from under the blankets and reached for Remus. He shifted Harry in his arms and held out a finger towards him, which the baby's fingers curled around and gripped tight. He then giggled quite contentedly, and Remus' eyes shone as he chuckled back.

"Yes, I think we're quite ready," he agreed, glancing up at Tonks and grinning. She bit her lip to conceal her own smirk and nodded, heading into the hallway to put on her shoes and coat. When she had done so, she turned to Remus again.

"May I?" she asked shyly. He smiled and nodded, passing baby Harry over to her. She gathered him into her arms and cooed over him, marvelling at the way his eyes lit up as he recognised her. She couldn't believe how much he had grown since she had last seen him, although she supposed it shouldn't surprise her, given that it had been eight months ago, right before James and Lily went into hiding. "He looks just like James," she murmured, and Remus looked over at him fondly.

"He has his mother's eyes," he replied, and as Harry's green orbs twinkled into Tonks' own, she had to agree.

"Well, goodbye, then," Petunia said, clearing her throat as she looked at Harry from the living room door. He waved a small hand at her before turning his full attention back to Remus, pouting when the man didn't notice him.

"Remus," Tonks called softly, and he turned from fastening his cloak and grinned as Harry's face lit up. "I think he wants you."

"Come here then, Harry," Remus chuckled, taking him back into his arms and holding him with his head on his shoulder, patting his back softly. "Let's get you home, shall we? Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs Dursley. Your husband has my details, should you decide you would like to arrange visits."

"I – well, yes. Thank you," Petunia said shortly.

"Goodbye, Mrs Dursley," Tonks said with a polite smile, before opening the door and venturing out once more into the cold night. Remus followed her, and there was a snap as the door shut behind them. They waited until they were safely out of sight of Privet Drive before Remus passed Harry back over to Tonks.

"Hold onto him tight," he instructed, slipping an arm around her shoulder as she didn't have a free one with which to hold on. "Ready?"

"Ready." A moment later, Tonks found herself back outside Hogwarts gates.

"Welcome home, Harry," Remus said with a grin. Little Harry laughed delightedly up at him and stretched out his arms, begging to be held. Tonks handed him back with a light chuckle, relieved to have gotten him back to Sirius safely.

"You've got quite a fan there," she commented, watching Remus as he swung Harry around in the air, drawing squeals of laughter from the boy. The joy etched upon Remus' own face transformed him into a boy again in Tonks' eyes – his eyes were alight and his smile genuine. He reminded her of the way he had been when they first met, before he had been touched by the War. He grinned at her.

"Harry here is a Marauder through and through," he informed her as they began the walk back up to the castle. "He recognises a troublemaker when he sees one."

"Or he just adores you," she suggested, and when he raised an eyebrow, she stuck her tongue out. He merely laughed and drew his wand, conjuring his Patronus. Tonks wasn't surprised to see that it took the form of a wolf. He spoke to it in a low voice, and it bounded towards the castle ahead of them.

"I think it's best if Sirius meets us at the doors," Remus explained. "I wouldn't want any of my students to catch me roaming the castle with a baby, after all. He and I are taking Harry to Grimmauld Place tonight to settle him in, so we can leave directly from dropping you off back at school."

"Sirius is leaving?" Tonks asked, agape, and Remus frowned slightly as he caught her eye.

"Well, yes," he confessed. "He can hardly raise Harry in Hogwarts, after all, and Grimmauld Place, as sad as it is, is his home. He did wonders with it in the final months before the War, you know. It's nowhere near as dark and horrible as it used to be, and he and Kreacher even seem to have come to an understanding. There are far worse places for Harry to be brought up."

"I know, but … well, I expected he would be around, that's all," she admitted, sighing to herself. Remus smiled sadly.

"He will be," he tried to comfort her. "Once his name is cleared, he'll be over to visit more often than you'll want him to be. Dumbledore has even offered him a job here for next term, although if anyone asks, you know nothing about it." Tonks gasped in delight.

"Really?" she breathed. "Oh, Remus! That would be perfect! What job – teaching? What subject? What would he do about Harry?"

"I believe Professor Slughorn has expressed a desire to retire sooner rather than later, so we shall see. And as I told the Dursleys, there are many people who would help to look after Harry. Sirius would not be a live-in Professor, and would have Harry in the mornings and from four onwards. And the holidays of a Professor are better than in most other jobs. While Sirius could live quite comfortably on his family's money, he has no desire to. He wants Harry to grow up knowing the value of work, but also to ensure there is plenty of money to give him everything he could need."

"Wow," Tonks murmured as the castle loomed before them. "It sounds perfect, actually. I hope he decides to take up the job."

"I think it is merely a case of waiting until after Peter's trial," Remus said with a small shrug, bouncing Harry lightly on his hip. "After Sirius' name is cleared formally, he will be able to truly think about his future, and Harry's."

"Psst! Moony!" They both turned, surprised, and Sirius appeared from the shadows next to the main door, his face glowing with excitement. "You really did it," he breathed, looking down at Harry in wonderment. "You brought him back … hey, Harry …"

"Want to go to Sirius?" Remus asked, holding the little boy up to look into his eyes. Harry nodded happily and held his arms out, and both men chuckled as Remus passed him over.

"Hey, little man," Sirius murmured, a grin spreading across his face as he bounced his godson in his arms. "I've got you, all right? Sirius has got you … everything's going to be all right from now on, okay? You believe me?" Harry nodded and made a contented sound somewhere between a gurgle and a laugh, and the three others all laughed.

"Should he be talking by now?" Tonks asked concernedly, but Sirius shook his head.

"Most kids start talking between a year and a half and two," he said. "Harry's only just over fifteen months. Besides, he's already toddling and flying like a pro, aren't you?!"

"**Flying**?" Tonks repeated, and the other two exchanged smirks. "What did you do?"

"I may have sent him a broom for his birthday," Sirius grinned easily. "Lily said he really loved it – I've got a picture at home of him trying to break everything they own. He'll be a great Quidditch player one day."

"You're impossible," Remus said with a chuckle, reaching over and ruffling Harry's hair. "But we had better get a move on if I want to make it back here tonight. Dora, you'll be all right from here?"

"I think I can manage," she said dryly, shooting a pointed glance at the doors directly behind him. He merely rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Well, thank you again for coming with me," he said.

"Thanks both of you," Sirius said, his tone more serious now. "I … you know. It means a lot to me to have Harry, that's all. I appreciate it."

"Any time, Padfoot," Remus said quietly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm glad it's all coming together for you, Sirius," Tonks added, and he nodded.

"Cheers," he said again. "I'll see you soon, Nymphy. Just … take care of yourself, yeah? No more crazy stunts like trying to save Moony's life."

"Sirius!" she hissed. He smirked as he turned, and Remus rolled his eyes after him.

"See you tomorrow, Dora," he said with a smile.

"Bye, Remus," she said, returning it, and turned and headed into the school. She pulled the door closed behind her, smiling wanly at a couple of seventh-year Ravenclaws who were on Prefect duty in the Entrance Hall.

"Busy night, Tonks?" one of them called. She shrugged as she morphed her face back to its natural appearance and shortened her hair, turning it bubblegum pink and spiky.

"Not really," she said offhandedly. "I just went for a walk. Anyway, it's pretty cold, so I'm going to go warm up in the common room, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." They both waved a jaunty goodbye as she made her way as quickly as she could to the library, remembering her promise to find Charlie and Eric. They were huddled together with Andrea at a table at the very back of the library, next to the door to the Restricted Section. All three of them looked up as she slumped into a seat next to them.

"Have fun?" Andrea asked testily, and Tonks sighed.

"Tons," she replied flatly. "I got to lie to Muggles, freeze my ass off, not to mention have really awkward conversation with people who hated my dead friends. Good times."

"What were you guys doing?" Eric asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Retrieval mission," Tonks said vaguely, loosening her coat buttons and tossing it over the back of her chair.

"Retrieving what?" Andrea pushed, her eyes cold.

"You guys can't tell anyone," Tonks warned them. They all just continued to look at her, and she half-sighed. "Harry Potter," she confessed.

"What?!" Charlie hissed. "From where? Where is he?!"

"Are you mad?" Eric added.

"We got him from Lily's sister's house, and he's headed to his new home, and no, I am not mad!" she retorted. "Sirius is Harry's godfather – now that we know he's innocent, he's to take care of him from now on. Remus and I had to go collect him because as far as most people know, Sirius is guilty. And the Dursleys – his aunt and uncle – were less than impressed with the whole situation, but they handed him over without too much trouble. Sirius is taking him home now to set up house. I haven't seen him this excited in a long time."

"And the clothes? The hair?" Andrea prompted, for some reason not appearing appeased.

"Lily's family are Muggles," Tonks explained with a cool glance towards her friend. "They wouldn't have been inclined to help us if I'd shown up in robes, and my school uniform makes me look like a child. We needed them to trust us."

"Hmm."

"All right, **what** is your problem?" she demanded, leaning forward and glaring at Andrea. "I said I would explain, and I have, and it's all perfectly innocent, like I said!"

"That's not exactly the point, Tonks!" Eric pointed out, sounding exasperated.

"Well what is the point then?!"

"The point," Charlie interrupted, lowering his voice as Madam Pince, the librarian, stuck her head between two bookshelves, peering at them suspiciously, "the point, Tonks, is that ever since Professor Lupin showed up, you've been acting really different. We get that you two have known one another for a while, and it's one thing for you to catch up occasionally, but this is constant, twenty-four-seven closeness. He's a teacher, Tonks! He can't be going around being that close with his students, even if you have known each other since you were younger. It's really inappropriate, and you don't seem to have any respect for the fact, and neither does he."

"And on top of that, you've been spending more time with him lately than you have with us," Eric added, sighing. "Being friends with him is, you know, kind of off in itself, but blowing your other friends off for him every time he smiles at you is just plain wrong. He could go to prison, Tonks."

"You're not – God, guys, it's not like there's anything going on between us!" Tonks explained frustratedly. "He's had a hard time of it, losing the same friends I have, and we both needed someone who understood to help us cope. And Sirius is my favourite cousin – the only one I actually admit to being related to – and Remus is his best friend. Of course we've got a lot to talk about – of course we spend time together! There's nothing sinister about that, and I really resent the fact that you guys don't trust me."

"We do trust you," Charlie corrected her, "but you've been acting very …"

"Un-Tonks," Andrea supplied. "Secrets and lies and … who knows what else. It's not like you, and it makes us wonder what exactly goes on behind closed doors."

"You're the ones who could get Remus into trouble, making allegations like that!" Tonks snapped, scandalised at the suggestion. "He is a perfect gentleman, and you're throwing inappropriate accusations around like it's all a game! You're right, he could get into a lot of trouble if someone gets the wrong idea – and it is the **wrong** idea!"

"Then why isn't he being more careful to protect his own reputation?!" Andrea bit right back.

"Oh, I don't know – maybe he's not crazy, and happens to think that there's nothing wrong with being friends with someone he's known for six years now?" Tonks suggested dryly.

"And what do you think Professor Dumbledore thinks about the whole situation?" Charlie asked her, his voice at least a little gentler than Andrea's. "You can't tell me you think he approves of how much time you two spend together?"

"I don't really think he cares one way or the other – he's a little busy, you know, running the school; saving the wizarding world – stuff like that."

"That's your answer to everything, isn't it?" Andrea said angrily. "Make stupid jokes; sarcastic comments; hope it all goes away without you having to be honest! Well we're tired of it, Tonks. If we're really your friends, then we deserve a straight answer."

"A straight answer about what?!" Tonks asked, eyes wide. _This was ridiculous_.

"Are you or are you not in a relationship with Professor Lupin?" Andrea asked bluntly, and Tonks felt her jaw hit the floor. Charlie and Eric exchanged uncomfortable glances, but she barely noticed.

"I cannot believe you even have to ask me that," she said, her voice hushed.

"You're avoiding the question."

"No!! Of course I'm not in a relationship with him!" she exclaimed, dumbfounded. "I – he's my friend, guys, and almost like family, I guess! When I first came to Hogwarts, he and Sirius and – and James, were the only friends I had! They looked out for me; made me feel welcome and happy, which is more than I can say for anyone else here, including you guys. I owe them everything. I almost left Hogwarts after first term! If it weren't for them, I probably would be at Beauxbatons right now. And as we got older, I liked them even more. They included me in things; pranks, parties, holidays … and when Lily finally agreed to go out with James and joined in, she and I hit it off right away. She was amazing, and James was brilliant. And I miss them!" she admitted, her voice breaking as she blinked back tears. "I miss them, all right?! I hadn't seen them in months since they went into hiding, and then they were just – just gone, forever! And I thought I'd lost Sirius – my favourite cousin, and one of my closest friends. And then … and then there was Remus."

"The Almighty Lupin to the rescue," Andrea muttered darkly, and Tonks looked up at her, eyes blazing in fury.

"Don't talk about him that way," she whispered, shaking her head disgustedly. "You have no idea – any of you – what he's been through. You can see how deeply this has all affected me – well imagine how hard it was for him! He has no family of his own any more. His parents are dead. He never had any siblings, and he never knew if he even had aunts or uncles. His parents weren't in touch with their families any more before they died. The closest he had ever come to a family was here, with his friends – with James, Sirius, Lily, Peter … me. And then all of a sudden James and Lily are betrayed, he thinks by Sirius, and Peter is killed, again, supposedly by Sirius. His four best friends in the world, snatched from him – three dead, one the reason. He lost **everything** that night. I lost friends, but he lost the only family he had – the only people he truly loved, and who had ever truly loved him for who he is. What would you have had me do? Keep my distance? Make him think I didn't really care after all? Step back and leave him to struggle alone?! Well excuse me if I thought he deserved better from the only person he still trusted."

"Tonks …" Eric said softly, but she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Eric," she sighed. "On top of all that, Remus has horrors in his past that I can barely imagine. And I can't tell you what – it's far too personal, and I would never do that to him. But he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he's only a few years older than we are! And now he's taken on the responsibility of training us up to face the real world; a world that despises him and has been really cruel to him. I just don't want him to have to carry all that weight alone any more."

"He has Sirius," Andrea pointed out.

"Now he does," Tonks agreed. "He didn't at first. And now that he does, he has to come to terms with the fact that another of his best friends was the traitor instead. It's a little easier on him now, sure, but he and Sirius have still lost James and Lily. I think they'd kill Peter if they could. They're still suffering, just together instead of alone. And Sirius, as much fun as he seems, has changed over the past three months. During the War, he got so caught up in fighting Death Eaters … it was like he was on a death mission. He took crazy risks and never rested, because his whole family – my whole family – were an embarrassment to him. He wanted to prove he wasn't like them. And then to be put in Azkaban … he's still Sirius, but he's had to grow up really fast. So has Remus. They've got a lot to get their heads around, and I think of them as my family. I want to help."

"And … and you said Sirius is going to look after Harry Potter?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was suddenly exhausted. She didn't think she'd talked so much in weeks. "James asked him to be godfather the day Harry was born. He was … he was so proud. And you should see him with Harry. The boy lit up at the sight of him – and of Remus, actually. They're like favourite uncles to him."

"Which would make you Aunt Tonks," Charlie joked flatly.

"Something like that. Now you guys can think what you want, because I've got nothing else to say about this. I'm not going to apologise for trying to be there for my friends – my family. If you feel left out, or something, then I happen to think that's pretty petty and selfish of you guys. And that's completely your problem – not mine. So I guess I'll see you around, or whatever. Night." And before any of them could say anything, Tonks had stood up and swept from the library, furiously blinking against the tears that threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. Why did something always have to go wrong, just when she thought things were going right for a change? _It wasn't fair_.


	10. IX: Fixing The Problem

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own anything you recognise, except if you recognise it from this story ...  
**A/N:** As a reward to those of you who've stuck around, I've decided after all to post **two** chapters in order to make up for the delay in updates. I'm about halfway through the next one at the moment, so hopefully there'll be less of a delay, and thanks again for staying with me :)

* * *

The next morning was spent in the most boring way possible, Tonks thought. She went to breakfast alone, managed to force down a slice of dry toast, and sat as far from anyone else as she could in her morning lessons. She wasn't in the mood for conversation, especially not with her so-called friends. Andrea had already been gone when she had reached breakfast, and she had refused to look in the direction of the Gryffindor table. She couldn't quite decide whether she was angrier with her friends for what they had accused her of, or with herself, for rising to it. She should never have let something so ridiculous get her so worked up, but she resented not being trusted by the people she cared about. It was as if they expected her to make a choice between Remus and Sirius, and them, and that was something she had never wanted or expected to do.

She completely missed lunch, opting instead to spend the time between Potions and Defence Against The Dark Arts in the dormitory, with the curtains drawn around her bed and her nose buried in a book. She had never been one for pleasure-reading, not in the way that many of her friends had, but she thought she may as well find a hobby, since it seemed that her last term at Hogwarts was going to be spent somewhat alone. She entered Remus' classroom late and sat down quietly at the back of the room, avoiding eye contact with everyone, including the Professor himself, who she had felt attempting to catch her gaze at least three times. When she was sure his back was turned, she risked a look at Charlie, Eric and Andrea, only to find them with their heads close together, muttering amongst themselves. _No doubt coming up with more ridiculous accusations._

"All right, everyone on your feet," Remus called after what felt like forever. The class shuffled to their feet, and Remus waved his wand distractedly, sending the desks against the walls. "We're going to continue our work on Stunning today, so I'd like you all to pair off and keep practising. I'll come round and observe for fifteen minutes or so, and then we'll have a discussion on the theory of wordless spells." He conjured a fresh supply of cushions and set them to work. Tonks found herself paired with Titus, the Ravenclaw with the dazzling smile who Andrea had been pining after for over three months. But that wasn't her problem any more, and she refused to feel guilty about the dark looks she could feel her 'friend' directing at her from the other end of the room.

"Lot harder than it looks, isn't it?" Titus asked with a lopsided grin, flourishing his wand in vain. Tonks shook herself and offered him a weak smile in return.

"Definitely," she agreed distractedly, her eyes fixed upon the back of Remus' head as he spoke somewhat sharply to Eric and Charlie.

"Are you any further forward with it?" Titus pushed. She jumped as he waved his wand particularly violently in the air and it clattered to the ground. He shrugged sheepishly as he picked it up again, looking down at it helplessly. "This is impossible."

"I don't think it's impossible," Tonks said, forcing herself to focus. "It's meant to be challenging, but they wouldn't ask us to do something they didn't think we could handle."

"I don't know. Professor Lupin might," he countered doubtfully. "He's well keen on having us push ourselves to our limits. It's not so hard to believe he'd try to push us beyond them. Besides, nobody's mastered it yet, and we had all day yesterday. Plus I know most of the class were practising last night again to see if they could get it. It's bloody hard, is what it is!"

"Rome wasn't built in a day, Mr Cox," Remus' mild voice floated over to Tonks. Titus turned unblushingly to face the young Professor, who had wandered over to them undetected by either. Tonks ducked her head immediately.

"The War's over, Professor," Titus protested. "Why would we need the element of surprise now?" Remus looked at him, shaking his head in obvious disappointment.

"If that is truly your only thought, Mr Cox, then I worry," he responded. "It is incredibly naïve of you to presume that there may not be another War; that because Lord Voldemort appears to have been vanquished, we shall never again need defensive magic. I would hope that you do not honestly believe that life is now going to be good and proper in every way. There are plenty of creatures – wizards and beasts – who would seek to create strife amongst species and between even friends. If you truly expect that you will never again have need of an advantage in magic, by being able to surprise your opponent, then so be it. You are free to leave at any time, remember." A stunned silence followed this speech, and Tonks chanced a glance at Remus. His gaze was fixed upon Titus, steady and in no way accusing, but nor did it betray any hint of his being any less than serious. The silence stretched to the point of becoming uncomfortable, but just as Tonks was debating speaking, it was broken by a loud tapping at the window.

"You have an owl, Professor," Jenny pointed out, and Remus finally lifted his eyes from Titus' face. He crossed to the window and let the bird in, taking the scroll from its leg and closing the window again after it had flown away.

"Back to work," he said quietly but firmly, turning his back on the class to read his letter.

"What do you think **that** was meant to mean?" Titus asked Tonks, looking truly baffled as he shot Remus a disparaging glance. She gaped at him. Could he really be this dense?

"It means you're an idiot." Tonks' eyes widened as Andrea stepped up behind her and threw the insult at him, sounding disgusted. "And it means that if you're going to keep being an idiot, you can leave. Some of us want to learn. Can I have a word, Tonks?"

"Busy," Tonks answered through gritted teeth, closing her eyes and trying to focus on casting a silent Stunner. _Focus. __**Stupefy**__. Come on … try again. More willpower. __**Stupefy!**_

"Whoa!" Eric called out as Titus suddenly flew backwards and landed with a heavy thud on the nearest pile of cushions. Everyone's eyes turned onto Tonks, and there were calls of approval and a few scattered claps as her classmates realised that she had managed to Stun him without moving her lips. She gaped down at him, unable to move for several moments. She couldn't believe she had just done that.

"_Enervate_," Remus said calmly, waving his wand over Titus' form. "On your feet, Mr Cox, and figure out how to retaliate. If, of course, you think it will ever come in useful." There was an appreciative titter around the room, and Titus blinked stupidly around him as he scrambled to his feet. "Twenty points to Hufflepuff, Ms Tonks," Remus announced, and Andrea stuck her tongue out at Charlie and Eric. "Excellent job."

"Thank you, sir," Tonks responded, bemused to find herself flushing at the praise.

"Nice one, Tonks," Charlie added with a nod in her direction. She flushed even deeper and looked pointedly away from him. It seemed that her friends were trying to make amends for the night before, but she wasn't sure she could forgive them so easily. Remus frowned down at her.

"Ms Tonks, I would like a quick word with you," he informed her, in a tone that brooked no opposition. "The rest of you, keep trying. Here is living proof that it can, in fact, be done. Back to it. Have a seat," he added in a lower voice, sitting behind his desk and gesturing for Tonks to pull a chair over. She did so hastily, sitting with her back to the class and looking determinedly at her shoes.

"What's the matter, sir?" she asked as calmly as she could, hating how her voice shook.

"You tell me," Remus replied levelly. "Is everything all right? You seem … preoccupied. And forgive me, but I notice you don't appear to be speaking to Ms Perkins or your other friends at the moment. I wouldn't like to think there had been some cause of friction between you. On another note, I must congratulate you again on mastering the silent Stunner. It was very effective for your first one."

"Thank you," Tonks mumbled. She would love more than anything to pour her heart out to Remus, but knew that her friends would only make her feel worse for it. Besides, now didn't seem to be an appropriate time. "And everything's fine, sir. Really." He quirked an eyebrow doubtfully at her.

"If you say so," he said, his tone sceptical. "There will just be one more thing, in that case."

"What's that?"

"Peter's trial will be held a week tomorrow," he said sombrely, and she straightened up immediately. "Sirius and I are being called as the star witnesses, along with yourself, the Minister and the Headmaster. Your friends may also have to provide testimony, although theirs will be of less value. We are all to congregate tonight to meet with a wizard from Magical Law Enforcement to go over our statements, at seven pm. I was hoping you could pass on the message, but things being what they are … well, perhaps I should just ask them to wait behind after class."

"Would you?" Tonks asked hopefully, keeping her gaze locked on the ground. "I mean, I can tell them if you really want me to, but if you don't mind …"

"Very well. I would like for you to remain behind as well, however." Tonks grimaced.

"I will," she promised, getting to her feet. He nodded and stood as well, and she hurried towards the back of the room, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Remus cleared his throat, and proceeded to engage his students in a surprisingly lively discussion about the theory behind the magic, and what exactly they found so difficult. He dismissed them some thirty minutes later with instructions to practice more that evening.

"Mr Weasley, Mr Dawes, Ms Perkins and Ms Tonks!" Remus called out as the class began to gather their bags and file out. "A word, if you please." Tonks meandered towards his desk, avoiding the others' gazes, and she heard them muttering amongst themselves.

"What have we done, Professor?" Andrea asked somewhat defensively. Remus merely raised his eyebrows.

"Why, nothing at all," he responded pleasantly. "I am merely relaying a message to you all from the office of Magical Law Enforcement. This evening at seven, you have all been requested to meet in Professor Dumbledore's office in order to discuss your testimonials with regards to Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. The trial will take place eight days from now, and you should all be prepared to be called before the Wizenagmot on that date. Any questions?"

"What – I mean, what are they going to ask us?" Eric asked suspiciously.

"Simply to tell the truth as you heard it in the Hospital Wing," Remus said levelly. "The more eyewitness accounts they have to corroborate one another, the better case can be built against Peter as the traitor that he is."

"And we just have to answer a few questions?" Andrea pressed.

"As far as I've been informed, yes."

"Who do we have to speak to, sir?" Charlie put in, and Remus half-smiled.

"I assure you all, there is no call to be nervous," he said. "I do not know who will be meeting us later, nor do I know anything else beyond what I have told you."

"And we've to go to Dumbledore's office?" Eric repeated.

"**Professor** Dumbledore has offered the use of it, yes," Remus chided gently. "Ms Tonks at least knows where it is located, and I am sure she can direct you accordingly if you are uncertain. Now, you ought to be going to your next classes, I believe. Ms Tonks, if you could wait one more moment – I have a message from your cousin." Tonks hung back as the three others traipsed out, shooting glances over their shoulders at her, and she sighed heavily and collapsed into a chair once the door swung closed behind them.

"I hate being stressed," she complained. Remus frowned.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on, Dora, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" His eyes twinkled mischievously, and she chuckled softly, glad of a little light relief.

"You would," she consented with a small smile. He nodded in agreement as he came around his desk and leant against the front of it, looking down at her with his brow still slightly furrowed. She felt his gaze boring into her for several long moments before she was able to drag her eyes to meet his. He quirked an eyebrow.

"We can do this all day," he pointed out mildly.

"I have a class," she retorted.

"A study class," he reminded her just as quickly, and she rolled her eyes. He _would_ have figured out her schedule already. "And I'm sure your Professor will understand if I send you with a note. So shall we begin now, or should I prepare the tea and biscuits?"

"They're mad at me," Tonks finally admitted moodily.

"Well, yes, that much is apparent," Remus said dryly. "Are you really going to make me ask the obvious question?"

"They think … I don't know what they think!" she cried, all of her frustration finally overcoming her as she ran a hand absentmindedly through her hair, feeling the locks lengthen under her fingers. "Sorry," she muttered. "I do it without realising when I'm stressed out. They seem to have got it into their heads that because you, Sirius and Harry are back in my life; I don't want to be their friend any more."

"But that's preposterous," said Remus, his frown deepening, and Tonks snorted.

"No kidding, Sherlock," she sighed. He raised his eyebrows in mild amusement, and she chuckled wryly. "Sherlock Holmes," she elaborated, "he's a –"

"- character in Muggle literature," he finished with a knowing nod. "A famous Detective. Holmes and Watson, yes?" She grinned, more out of surprised pleasure at his knowing the story than anything else. Then again, this **was** Remus John Lupin she was talking to.

"Yeah. My dad's a huge fan. I guess if any wizard would know about it, it would be you," she conceded. "And maybe Dumbledore," she added as an afterthought.

"Indeed," Remus agreed. "So how did your friends get this obscure idea into their heads?"

"I guess I've been spending a lot of time with you and Sirius," she shrugged. She had absolutely no intention of revealing Andrea's other accusation to him. "Not because I don't want to be with my other friends; just that I've had so much less of a chance to see you two. I guess they didn't know how close we all were before, and so … I don't know. They're not really used to sharing me." He tilted his head to one side, regarding her thoughtfully, and she squirmed slightly under his piercing gaze. "What?"

"Just wondering when you became so grown up," he said with a small, sincere smile. "I think you've hit the nail on the head, as they say. A very insightful analysis. And it leads me to my final question: what are you going to do about it?"

"Me?!" Tonks exclaimed indignantly. "Why should I do anything?! They're the ones who have the problem, not me!" He sighed patiently.

"And of course, two wrongs do make a right, after all," he said sarcastically, and she glowered at him.

"I never said that," she said defensively, "but it's not up to me to make them feel better about themselves. If they knew me half as well as I thought they did, they would understand why you and Sirius – and Harry, too – mean so much to me, and why I would want to be around you. I don't see why I should have to choose."

"But maybe you have been," Remus said, a lot more gently. "Dora, you know how much I appreciate and value your friendship, and how glad Sirius is to have some – I cannot believe I am saying this – _normality_, in his family –"

"Normality?" she repeated with a scoff, and he chuckled.

"As I said, I never thought the words would leave my mouth," he assured her with a lopsided grin. "But you understand my point. We both care very much about you, Dora, and Harry will be lucky to have you in his life as he grows up. But that's not to say that you shouldn't have friends your own age, too – and before you interrupt, I know that you don't think you've been making any choices. I know that very well: however, I can see why your friends might think you have. I believe they do know you better than you give them credit for. I think … I think that to them, we are like your extended family, and so they don't understand quite where you're coming from."

"Why shouldn't they?"

"Because to them … family life and Hogwarts life are two very separate parts of them," said Remus slowly. "And that's true for most students here, too. Your family – and extended family – happens to be unique. It must be rather difficult for your friends to comprehend the ease with which those two parts of your life intersect, and therefore they have trouble understanding the ways in which you act and react to the equally unique situations that arise. I don't think you can fault them for that."

"Oh, I could," Tonks corrected him confidently, and he half-smirked. "But I won't. You're right, as usual. I guess I've been so caught up in everything that's been happening, I didn't realise that they must have felt a bit overwhelmed. Do you think they thought that I wasn't involving them because I didn't want them to be in that part of my life?"

"I think it's a very real possibility." She cringed.

"Damn," she murmured. "I didn't involve them because it was so … **so** complicated. I thought it would be easier on them if they didn't have to worry about me."

"Very noble of you indeed," Remus said with a nod. "But remember that as your friends, it is their prerogative to worry about you, especially when there is actually a legitimate reason for doing so. Don't take that away from them too rashly." Tonks nodded at the floor before looking up at him with a playful scowl.

"I hate that you're always right," she informed him, and he grinned.

"Whereas I rather enjoy it," he returned smugly. "So what are you going to do to fix it?"

"I don't know," she said with a half-hearted shrug. "I guess … try to explain to them why I've been so desperate to be around you guys? Try to make them understand that it's not about caring more, but about caring differently? And if that doesn't work, then I don't know what else I can do."

"Then start there and hope that it does work," he advised her, straightening. "And good luck. Now, I really do have a message from Sirius to relay to you – he wanted me to thank you again for accompanying me last night, and to invite you to dinner at Grimmauld Place this Saturday evening. And, er … I'm sure if you were to tell him what you've told me, he would extend the invitation to include your friends as well. Perhaps it would help to show them that you're not trying to leave them out, but rather that you're still just trying to find the right balance."

"Maybe," agreed Tonks quietly. "I'll ask Sirius tonight. Thanks, Remus."

"Any time," he acknowledged with a slight nod. He grabbed a quill and parchment and scrawled something on it before magically sealing it and handing it over. "To excuse your lateness," he explained as she took it from him. "Tell Professor Slughorn that he has my apologies for keeping you so late."

"Thanks," she said again, pocketing the scroll. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Indeed you will," Remus smiled. "Now off you go."

"Bye," she grinned as she left the room, her heart lighter than before. If nothing else had come of the conversation, she at least had a meal at Grimmauld to look forward to – which meant she would get to see Harry again. The sight of him last night had made her miss James and Lily more than ever, but at least they had left some part of themselves behind. She slid into Slughorn's classroom with a mumbled apology and passed him Remus' note before taking the last empty seat, right at the back of the room.

"Thank you, Miss Tonks," Slughorn acknowledged as he rolled up the parchment and nodded in her direction, accepting the excusing of her lateness. She merely nodded and ducked her head, not wanting to draw her friends' attention to the fact that she had been gone for far longer than was necessary to receive a message from a cousin. The remainder of the hour flew by, and before Tonks knew it, classes were over. She shoved her books into her bag and left quickly, opting to wait for her friends outside the door rather than hovering awkwardly in the back of the room. A few moments after her departure, Andrea, Charlie and Eric all exited together, and Tonks stepped out in front of them, taking a deep breath.

"Hey, guys," she said unsurely, watching as they all exchanged hesitant glances.

"Hi, Tonks," Charlie eventually said warily. "What's up?"

"Uh, I wondered if we could talk, actually … about last night. I know I shouldn't have ignored you guys in Defence, but I was still kind of mad. Anyway, I don't want this to turn into more than it already is." Andrea eyed her shrewdly for a moment before straightening slightly and giving a brief nod.

"Why don't we go and sit by the lake until dinner?" she suggested, and the other two nodded their agreement.

"Thanks," Tonks said softly, turning and leading the way. The walk to the lakeside was silent and slightly awkward, but she knew that was to be expected. When they reached the shade of a large birch tree she dumped her satchel on the grass and sat down, leaning against the trunk. Her three friends followed suit, sitting themselves near her so that they formed a sort of circle. They then all looked at one another, nobody seeming sure where they ought to begin.

"All right, I'll go first," Eric said when the silence had stretched out for a full five minutes. "Tonks, I'm sorry if we upset you – well, we did upset you, I know, but … I'm sorry. We're your friends and we should have been more sensitive about whatever it is that's going on with you at the moment. **But** … I'm not sorry we asked you those things. We were concerned, and even if we were wrong, we had good reason to think what we did. We're still your friends, Tonks. We had to make sure."

"Because you didn't trust me," she replied, her voice strangely flat.

"Not true," Andrea retorted. "We trust you, Tonks. We just don't know if you really trust us any more. It's not like you to keep us in the dark, and it seems like lately that's all you have been doing."

"And it might have come across like we were judging you," put in Charlie, "but it wasn't about that. We thought if we pushed you, you might actually let us in. At least if we knew all the facts we would know if there was anything to judge."

"You mean if I really had been having a sordid affair with our Professor, you would have been justified in disowning me?" Tonks asked sarcastically, regretting the words the moment she had said them. Andrea frowned.

"Excuse us for wanting to know," she returned. "If it had been true – and for the record, I do believe you. If you say it's not true, then it's not – but if it had been … we wouldn't have approved, but we would have stood by you. We wouldn't have told anybody. We might have tried to advise you against it, but only because we were worried that you were making a mistake. That you might get hurt."

"I know," Tonks sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I do know that, but I just … I guess I didn't keep you guys overly involved in my life because it was so complicated, you know? I still have no idea how to handle everything that's happened lately. James and Lily are dead, Peter's a traitor, Sirius is raising a child, and we almost died in a proper battle with Death Eaters. It's thrown me for a loop, and I think I thought that by … separating things, you know, by compartmentalising my life; it might make it easier to get my head around. I never meant to shut you out. I just didn't know how to let you in, either."

"We get that, Tonks. We really do," Eric assured her. "But it was more about the fact that you separated your life with us from your life with them … and then you prioritised them over us. That was what got to us."

"I didn't mean to!" she insisted. "I really, **really** didn't mean to – like I said, I was just really overwhelmed. I guess I've been trying to cling onto life with them while I can because it was already taken away from me once. I'm so scared of losing my friends again, guys – of losing my family. I don't know what else to say, except that I'm sorry, and I'm going to try to be better about not cutting anyone out. Starting this weekend."

"This weekend?"

"Yeah. Sirius has invited Remus and me to dinner on Saturday night, and I was going to ask him at this meeting thing tonight if you guys could come too. I'm sure he'll say yes – and if he doesn't, then … well, then that's his problem, not mine. But I really think he will, and I'd love for you guys to spend some time with them, because they're so important to me. If you'd be interested." She held her breath while the others exchanged surprised looks. Charlie was the first to speak up.

"Sounds fun," he said, and Tonks let out a huge sigh of relief, leaning over and hugging him delightedly. "Ooft! Come on, Tonks," he said gruffly, hugging her half-heartedly before pushing her away. "Don't get soft on me."

"I'm just – I'm so glad," she breathed, grinning widely. "I just know you'll love them, Chaz, and they'll be so pleased to get to know you!"

"Then I'm sure I'll be pleased to get to know them better too," he agreed, shooting significant glances at the other two. Eric cleared his throat.

"Can your cousin cook?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow, and Tonks giggled.

"His house-elf apparently can," she responded. Eric smiled.

"Then I'm in," he concurred, and she let out a little squeal of happiness, hugging him too.

"Thanks, Eric," she said into his shoulder before pulling away. "Thanks to both of you. I mean, I still need to tell Sirius I've invited you, but he won't care. He lives for a party, and Remus will be really pleased too. So … can I tell them it's a party of six?" she asked slightly hesitantly, looking sideways at Andrea, who huffed out a breath.

"I suppose so," she said quietly, and Tonks nodded, knowing not to push her luck. "I'll go, if Sirius is okay with it, Tonks, but I just … Professor Lupin is still our Professor. I'm still not convinced that it's appropriate to be spending time with him outside of Hogwarts. But, since it means so much to you, I'll go, and I'll make the effort. Other than that, I can't make you any promises."

"For now, that's enough," Tonks assured her, and her best friend gave her a small smile in return. "So … shall we have dinner? We have to be in Dumbledore's office in an hour."

"Plus, I'm famished," Charlie threw in, and they all chuckled. The atmosphere between Tonks and Andrea dissipated slightly during the walk to dinner, and by the end of the meal it was as though nothing had happened. At ten of seven, they met the boys at the entrance to the Great Hall and Tonks led the way, none too confidently, to Dumbledore's office. They stopped before the gargoyle and her friends looked around curiously.

"Now what?" Eric asked. She stepped closer to the grotesque figure.

"_Pear drops_," she said, and the gargoyle leapt aside. Eric and Charlie's jaws both dropped open, and Andrea let out a little squeal. Tonks stepped onto the moving staircase first, and the others followed her seeming slightly awestruck.

"This is **cool**," Charlie breathed.

"I thought so too," Tonks agreed in a murmur as they reached the landing. She took a deep breath and knocked loudly on the office door.

"Enter!" called a voice from inside, and she glanced at her friends, for the first time a little nervous, before opening the door and leading the way in.

"Ah, Ms Tonks," Dumbledore greeted pleasantly from behind his desks. "So good of you to bring your friends for us. Please, sit." He waved his wand vaguely and four chairs appeared alongside the five already occupied ones in front of his desk. Remus and Sirius both greeted Tonks as she led the others over; Remus with a small smile and a nod; Sirius with a broad grin, a wave, and an attempt to ruffle her hair as she passed him.

"Sirius!" she muttered, swatting him away. He merely smirked and turned to the raven-haired witch on his right.

"Amelia, I don't think you've ever met my little cousin," he said, and the woman named Amelia turned her gaze onto Tonks, watching her curiously as she took her seat. "This is Andromeda and Ted's daughter, Nymphadora Tonks, known by surname only. Tonks, this is Amelia Bones – she was in your mother's year at school."

"I've heard a lot about you," Amelia said with a kind smile. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name, Ms Tonks."

"Likewise, Ms Bones," Tonks said with a polite smile.

"So sorry, everyone," Dumbledore said, inclining his head. "I seem to have taken leave of my manners. Those of us who know each other: do forgive me while I make some brief introductions." He indicated each person as he named them. "Ms Nymphadora Tonks, Ms Andrea Perkins, Mr Charles Weasley, and Mr Eric Dawes – all seventh years, and all witnesses to Mr Pettigrew's confession. Then we have, as I'm sure you all know, Millicent Bagnold, Minister for Magic. Cornelius Fudge is with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and he was the lead officer at Sirius' arrest. As Sirius has informed us, this is Amelia Bones – Mr Fudge's assistant, who will keep a record of this meeting. We all know Sirius Black, and our Defence Professor, Remus Lupin. And finally we have Alastor Moody, Head Auror and here to represent his department's involvement in this investigation."

"Thank you, Albus," Moody, the scary-looking man who had joined Remus and McGonagall in the battle, growled, with a roll of his eyes that sent his magical one spinning in all directions. "Now that the niceties are done with, can we get down to it? All we need from this lot are their statements, and we can be done with it."

"In a rush, Mad-Eye?" Sirius asked with a grin, and Moody glared at him. Tonks ducked her head to hide her laughter. _Mad-Eye_. She liked that.

"Some of us have other things to do with our time, Sirius," he retorted.

"Nobody's forcing you to be here."

"He's just trying to antagonise you, Alastor," Remus said with a wry smile. "And, as usual, succeeding, I might add. Perhaps we can move on?"

"Yes, quite, Remus," agreed Dumbledore with a chuckle. "Very well – Mr Dawes, perhaps you could start us off?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Eric said, glancing around confusedly.

"Just tell us what you saw in the hospital wing, Mr Dawes," intervened Fudge. "Tell us about Peter Pettigrew. What he said; what he did; what your impressions of him were. Your friends can join in as and when they feel it is appropriate."

"All right," Eric agreed with a nod. "Well, we had just been fighting the Death Eaters a few hours before …" The story took them almost half an hour to tell, with the four students and Remus and Sirius all chipping in when necessary. By the time they finished their tale, Sirius looked quite as murderous as he had that day, and Amelia Bones had filled up almost three feet of parchment with notes. Dumbledore sat back in his chair, regarding them thoughtfully.

"Very well," he said with a nod. "I believe that will suffice for this evening. Remus; Sirius – you know we cannot go over your statements beforehand, given the weight of them in the trial. The six of you may leave."

"Goodnight, sir," Remus said politely as he stood, grabbing Sirius by the arm and hauling him to his feet with a pointed glance towards the door. Sirius nodded at everyone in the room, winked at Amelia Bones, and followed his friend from the room in silence. Tonks, Charlie, Andrea and Eric trailed after them, relieved that it was over. As soon as the heavy wooden door had closed behind them, Sirius let out a breath.

"Well, that was torture," he said flatly. "Bloody Wormtail. Moony, how about a drink in your room? I could use one right about now."

"Sirius, where's Harry?" Tonks demanded, fear flaring up inside her. He smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"He's with Kreacher," he explained calmly. "He's really taken to him – and vice versa, come to that. I think the elf's so glad to have people in the house again that he's even nicer to me than before. Never liked him growing up, but … he's not so bad. I guess it's the family that make the elf."

"Oh wonderful – so now he's going to be insane?" Remus queried lightly, and Sirius punched him in the arm with a bark of laughter.

"You've got some cheek, Moony," he said, making a wounded face. "Anyway, Kreacher was singing him to sleep when I left. Strange elf, that one. He used to try to smother me in my sleep when I was Harry's age, and yet when Regulus was a baby, he would coo over him like he was his own son. Strange."

"And you've left him alone with Harry?!" Tonks spluttered indignantly.

"Well he likes me **now**," Sirius reminded her. "Trust me. I think having Harry in the house will be good for him. Gives him something to do other than cook and clean and listen to my crazy mother barking orders at him."

"Your mother?" Tonks repeated. "I thought she was …"

"Oh, she's quite dead," Remus assured her, grimacing slightly. Sirius shuddered.

"You'll understand when you come over," he said, shaking his head. "Remus told you about dinner on Saturday, didn't he?" Tonks glanced over her shoulder at her friends, who all promptly looked away from her, as they stepped off of the moving staircase and into the corridor.

"He did," she said with a nod, "and I'd love to be there. One favour."

"No."

"Sirius! I didn't even ask yet!" He snickered like a five-year-old.

"I know," he shrugged. "But you make it so easy to get a reaction out of you, my dear Nymphy. I couldn't resist. Now what can I do for you?"

"I was going to bring my friends to dinner," she said hesitantly, and he shrugged.

"Sure." Tonks saw, from the corner of her eye, three heads shoot up with wide eyes, and she grinned to herself. _Thank God Sirius was so laid-back_. "I'll tell Kreacher to expect four extra guests. Use the Knight Bus, okay? Moony's going to be there from early morning."

"Who's the fourth, Padfoot?" Remus asked with one raised eyebrow, and Sirius smirked.

"Amelia Bones," he said with a grin, and Tonks and Remus exchanged exasperated looks.

"Of course it is," Tonks muttered, loud enough for Sirius to hear her. He just grinned even wider. "What time should we be there?"

"Around six?"

"Perfect. See you Saturday. See you tomorrow, Remus."

"Goodnight," Remus said with a nod, as he and Sirius turned and made for his quarters, which were in the opposite direction to the Hufflepuff dormitories and Gryffindor tower.

"That was nice of him," Andrea commented, still seeming surprised. Tonks rolled her eyes good-naturedly as they began their walk back to their dormitory, bidding goodnight to the boys at the end of the corridor.

"He's a pretty nice guy," she agreed. "Not the crazed mass murderer everyone makes him out to be."

"You shouldn't even joke about that," her best friend reprimanded her, but she merely scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, trying to heat herself up.

"Whatever. Let's get back to the room – I'm frozen." Andrea nodded her consent and they made the rest of the short journey in record time. As they eventually curled up in their beds and Tonks pulled an extra blanket over herself, Andrea voiced aloud something that Tonks suspected she had been itching to say since the previous night.

"You know, I know you say nothing is going on with you two …"

"Drea, there **isn't**!" Tonks exclaimed frustratedly, but Andrea continued.

"No, I know, Tonks – really, and I believe you … now. And there shouldn't be, either, for all the reasons we've already pointed out to you. But he is rather attractive, and as you're so eager to remind us all, he really is a nice guy – especially compared to a lot of the people I've known you to be interested in."

"Your point?"

"Well, just that … we only have about six months left before we leave Hogwarts for good. I was just suggesting that maybe then – once we've graduated – there might be a chance for something … more."

"He's my friend," Tonks reminded Andrea once again. "That's it."

"Someone ought to remind **him** of that, if the way he was looking at you tonight was any indication," was all Andrea said, rolling onto her other side and leaving a very surprised Tonks gaping at the canopy above her bed in the darkness. "Night, Tonks."

"Night, Drea …" Tonks too rolled onto her side, closing her eyes and trying not to think about what her friend was suggesting. Her, think of Remus as more than a friend? Unlikely. More to the point – _Remus_ thinking of _her_ as more than a friend? She snorted to herself in amusement as she buried her face in her fluffy pillow. That would be the day.


End file.
